four year old and pacifiers

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I need some tips or advice please, my four year old autistic daughter refuses to give up her pacifier at night. I've tried various chewelry type things to see if she'll switch but she just chews on it for a bit and then tosses it aside and refuses to try it again.

Should I try to get her to give it up or just give in and let her have it for comfort?

Thanks!

This is a tough call. Our dentist got on me about getting the boys to give up their pacifiers because she said it would cause an overbite with their adult teeth. So I bit the bullet and got rid of them. With each of the boys I put the pacifers in an envelope and told them that we were going to give them to a baby that they knew (a friend's new baby or a new baby at daycare) who needed them more than they did. Then we struggled through a few sleepless nights but it didn't last long. Of course for us, by that time bedtime was the only time we were using the pacifier. If she is using it all day, you might want to try cutting back on the time she is allowed to have it first so the transition to not having it at all might be a little easier. On the other hand, maybe just ripping off the band-aid is the less painful thing to do in the end.

Good luck - our son sucked his thumb until about fifteen, and we could not get him to stop!

she mostly just uses it at night and occasionally when she's anxious, like when there is thunderstorms or she's in an unfamiliar place. I've thought about doing the mailing thing but I don't think she'd care that another baby needs the paci, that just doesn't speak to her if you know what I mean.

Thanks!

i just let my kids keep theirs. one is 12 she got rid of hers on her own when she was 7. my son still has his, he's 5. i have no plans on putting him through the heart ache of getting rid of it. he'll do it on his own when he's ready. i don't let him have it out in public or anything. i never made a big deal about it and they have no problems with their teeth. it's not as bad for their mouths as thumb sucking. i sucked my thumb until i was 9 or 10 so i'm not too concerned about it. if it doesn't really bother you that much i'd just let her keep it.