AIBU to ask for help with 11 year old having to learn to take tablets?

Using a sports bottle to take the drink really helps. One of the most common blocks is putting the head back unnaturally far, whereas you actually want a near neutral position. Which is the position your head is in normally when swallowing, so feels more natural.

If you explain to the pharmacist they should swap it over to liquid form no problem, so long as you hand them back the tablet form

I have a son who is hell with tablets and it was only recently when, for the first time ever I couldn’t swallow a tablet that I got it- your swallow reflex literally doesn’t line up with the tablet being in there if you know what I mean. It’s so hard!!! I was shocked as I tried over and over and then when I finally got it it didn’t even land properly!

Try a cup like this one:
www.badham-mobility.co.uk/products/detail/pilgo-pill-swallowing-cup

I always told my kids to not think about swallowing the tablet. Just swallow the mouthful of water in one go.

Put tablet in mouth then put head under the tap to drink the water, the pressure from the tap forces the tablet down

Will she use a straw? When my (ND) son was 3, he had to take slow release melatonin, only comes in tablet form. We tried everything, what worked for us was putting the tablet in his mouth, then making him drink from a straw in big mouthfuls. He's 20 now and still takes tablets with a straw.

That's wrong.. you can't take with milk.. protein effects them.

Water or (thicker drink preferably) in your mouth first, then pop tablet in then another sip then swallow. Start off with milkshake or the like, it’ll be hidden in that well.

A spoonful of yogurt, custard, trifle etc to help swallow them works for most kids

I sympathise. I couldn’t take tablets for years and I had a childhood illness that required me to have a lot. I used to have them in a jam sandwich-
yuk!! It put me off jam for years!

Best trick is to take them with a bottle drink rather than a glass. This helps a lot. Try splitting them into 2 halves if possible.

Also, people tell you to put them at the back of your mouth but I’ve never found this helpful. They’d just end up coming to the front and panicking me. I prefer to just sit them near the tip of my tongue and then drink from a bottle. They just seem to go down easily that way.

I can now swallow pretty big tablets but if you’d known me as a child you’d never have thought I’d get to this stage.

Had the same problem with both dd and they still can take a while taking them. The only think that has worked is tablet then water head back . Sometime they take extra sips and can take them the best part of a Minto actually swallow them. But it's much better then when they started with tablets. Both autistic.
I kept on with tablets as I have seen first hand adults who refuse to take tablets and it causes a lot of hassle . Especially if ever admitted to hospital for anything.
I know one woman who won't take tablets and also makes her dh crush her tablets as she won't even do that for herself. She gets hysterical.

There are some resources here. I am fairly sure I’ve seen a short video, maybe from a pharma company, I’ll keep trying to remember for you!

Just contact the prescriber your child can't swallow and ask for the liquid prescription. There's no need to wait 3 weeks.

OP will she eat raw carrot? I taught my sons to take tablets by cutting up pieces of raw carrot (which they like) into the exact size of the tablet. If they couldn't swallow they simply chewed until we practiced enough times to swallow it whole and then put the actual tablet in. It's like their throats and minds needed the practice before the real thing.

A variation on using a straw is using a sports drink bottle, and three good swallows. This is being recommended eg Pill school
(Hope I've managed the link right)

Agree that tictacs are a little big to start with although you've got the right idea to use sweets. Look at cake decorations to find smaller practice sweets - hundreds and thousands, cake sprinkles then bigger ones.

A different suggestion is what my daughter came up with as a child - put the tablet just under the tip of your tongue then take a drink. I tried it and was surprised how much better it worked than my normal technique.

Good luck!

Ditto but I use milk 😊

Fizzy drink! You can’t feel the tablet go down

I had this problem as a kid and teen, and crushed everything into ice cream. I finally cracked it by putting them on my tongue and glugging a whole pint of water. When I tried to take them with some careful sips it just didn't work and they hit the back of my throat and I just gagged. However, by just continuing to glug in massive gulps it got them down. Tic tacs are probably too big to start with, or they would have been for me anyway. I reckon you need something half that size and smooth to practice. Almost like a very small vitamin tablet. Good luck. I do remember the horror of it and feeling convinced I would choke.

My son is autistic too. I think it was alder hey hospital that had a leaflet on helping a chikd take tablets ((it had bread and sprinkles as an idea)

This is similar is similar to how I got dd to take tablets she was an absolute nightmare to teach but with liquid already in her mouth then pop the tablet in then drink more water because her mouth was already full she had to swallow what was there and the tablet went with it.
she’s 22 now and could swallow a dry horse pill.

Try with vitamin pills first