Spoon-to-cup fading as treatment for cup drinking in a child with intestinal failure.

Doctors asked one child with intestinal failure to drink from a cup. The child had always used a spoon, so the team taped a spoon inside the cup rim.

Each session they slid the spoon 1 cm farther out. The spoon stayed in view but the cup slowly took over. They measured how much the child drank.

Cup drinking rose from zero to full meals in 12 days. The child kept the skill one month later.

No extra prompts or rewards were needed. The fading alone did the work.

Rubio et al. (2021) looked at 20 feeding studies. They found finger prompts and side deposit beat jaw prompts for food acceptance. Spoon-to-cup fading adds a new prompt that moves, not just touches.

Christophersen et al. (1972) faded picture prompts for reading. Both studies show the same rule: slide the prompt away bit by bit and the new skill sticks.

Jarrold et al. (1994) faded physical restraints while teaching mands. Hattier et al. (2011) faded a physical spoon while teaching drinking. Same tactic, different body part.

If a child only takes food from a spoon, you can shape cup drinking in two weeks. Tape the spoon inside the cup, then slide it outward 1 cm each day. No extra reinforcers needed. The cup becomes the new cue and the spoon disappears.