I’ve heard a lot about the potential of vitamin B12 to help autistic children. I’ve also heard that the best way to give B12 is through injection — the body absorbs B12 better this way compared to oral B12. I brought this up with my wife, but she wouldn’t allow it. She’s okay with giving our son vitamin B12, just not through injection.
I couldn’t win the argument so I had to settle for the next best thing — a B12 pill. So I ordered a bottle of Metagenics Intrinsi B12/Folate (With Intrinsic Factor) and I was very excited when it arrived (as if it was a present for me). Like most parents of autistic children, I get excited whenever I hear about a type of intervention that some kids have had success with. Of course, I do my own research before actually trying it on my son.
So we got the B12 pill. Now all we had to do is get my son to swallow it. It’s very tiny, so it should be easy for him to swallow. Easy, right? Wrong — it’s one of the most challenging tasks that I have tried to do with my son. He wouldn’t swallow it; he’d just keep it in his mouth like a candy and wait for it to melt.
I tried giving him water and telling him how swallow it. He’d gulp the water down, but when he opens his mouth, I’d still see the pill under his tongue or on one side of his mouth.
I tried bribing him with his favorite candy. I told him that I’d give him one if he swallowed his B12 pill. It didn’t work.
And all this time that he was refusing to swallow the pill, he had this impish grin on his face, as if we’re playing a game and he’s having a lot of fun.
Today is the third day that I’m trying to teach him how to swallow his B12 pill. I don’t know how long it will take or what method will work to get him to swallow the pill. But he will learn — eventually. As with a lot of other tasks that he had learned over the years, it’s just a matter of time. Practice, practice, practice. And we’ll get there, son.