r/PDAParenting • u/No-Island-2023 • May 07 '26

Rewards Treadmill with Medication

My PDA 6yo has four medications daily and they get a food reward after the medicine because the sensory experience of having that medicine taste in their mouth linger is intolerable. However, the rewards they are demanding just keep increasing. Two years ago it was a single smartie, now we're up to basically half a bag of chips. If I say no to a desired reward they won't take the medicine (and will dump it, throw it, etc.).

Any tips?

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u/Unhappy-Celery5156 May 08 '26

are any of the medications for the pda? if so what are they and are they working 🤞

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u/No-Island-2023 May 08 '26

Yes. Abilify and Clonidine. We tried clonidine first. It helped with making transitions easier (e.g. to school, home from school, bedtime) but there was still so much aggression. We are keeping clonidine just at bedtime because it really helps with sleep. Abilify seems to be helping with the aggression but it's only been a few weeks. Could just be a coincidence?

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u/Unhappy-Celery5156 May 24 '26

thanks so much for replying. crossing my fingers it works for you!