Teaching Kids on the Autism Spectrum to Swallow Pills

Back when we tried Gus on Strattera, one of the biggest problems we had was just getting the medication down his throat.  At that point he was about 7 and couldn’t swallow the capsules, so I used the strategy of breaking it open and mixing it into applesauce.  The taste was so godawful, though, that he could only barely choke it down.  All the gagging was traumatic.  Within about 2 weeks, he started refusing to take it.  Even after we stopped the meds, he wouldn’t eat applesauce for a long time.

That particular medication didn’t work out for a number of reasons, but on occasion he still has to take something, allergy medication for example.  This probably doesn’t seem like a big deal.  After all, allergy medications come in childrens’ liquid forms or chewables.  The problem is that children’s medications can be more expensive than their adult, yucky tasting, counterparts, which can also be purchased in dollar-saving bulk.  It seemed to me that this would be a good time for him to learn to swallow pills.

Looking around online, I found some advice, like these Pill Swallowing Tips from About.com, on the best way to accomplish this, but many of the suggestions didn’t work.  He will take a crushed up pill in applesauce for a short period of time, but the taste is so bad that soon he can’t stomach it.  The one trick I that’s worked best for us has been putting a whole, small pill in a spoonful of applesauce.  That way he doesn’t really see, feel or taste it.  Yogurt would probably work just as well for him.

At some point in time we may try medication for Gus again.  Also, we give him a fish oil supplement daily, and it would make him happier, I’m sure, if he could just swallow a capsule instead of the liquid.  Hopefully, this will be a way for him to make that transition.  For now, he’s content.