Lots of kids have special objects that they're particularly attached to.
Every parent has had to negotiate the childhood traumas of lost teddy bears, or who gets to use the "good" plate.
But for some kids, these attachments go much deeper. For example, a child on the autism spectrum might have an especially strong reliance on using the same objects every single day.
That's because people with autism tend to experience sensory overload — they are often far more sensitive to stimulation from their environments than other folks.
For that reason, kids with autism tend to need a really solid routine and lots of familiarity.
In the case of Ben, a young man with severe autism, that extends to eating and drinking.
Ben will only drink from one specific sippy cup, an aqua-colored Tommee Tippee model that has been discontinued.
Now, Ben's cup is so well-loved that it's starting to fall apart, and his dad Marc is desperately scouring the internet for an exact replica to replace it.
Scroll through below to see the cup and learn more about their incredible story.
[H/T: Scary Mommy]
It all started when Marc Carter, a dad from the U.K., took to his Twitter account @GrumpyCarer to see if anyone on the internet could help him find the discontinued sippy cup for his son Ben.
He tweeted: "Reward for cup like this! Son has severe #autism & would rather go to A&E [emergency room] dehydrated than use ANY other cup – colour shape etc PLEASE SHARE"
He also tweeted out a post that explains Ben's situation more fully. Scroll through below to read his full post.
"Ben is 14 and has severe autism, he's non-verbal and has very limited understanding.
Since the age of 2 he has drunk exclusively from a little blue Tommee Tippee two handled cup."
"Fortunately about 3 years ago we managed to replace this very old and disintegrating cup with a newer one — cup part first, lid a few weeks later.
He was suspicious but we survived."
"No big deal right? We can just get something else. At that age he should be drinking out of a glass! You'd think eh.
Ben hasn't drunk at school since the age of 5, he doesn't drink outside of the house so we can't go anywhere.
People say he will drink when he gets thirsty, but two emergency trips to A&E [ER] with severe dehydration say otherwise."
"These cups are not made anymore, the replacements are new and fancy, we've tried them, Ben throws them at us."
"Maybe you have one stuck at the back of a cupboard?
It can be used, that's fine, the one he has doesn't have long left.
In all honesty, we are really worried what will happen if it falls apart completely."
"Can you please help us? Please share this far and wide, you can find me on twitter @GrumpyCarer.
We will happily pay for the cup and postage, and we would love more than one if we can find them."
So far Marc's original tweet has been shared nearly 20,000 times on Twitter alone, and word of the search even reached Tommee Tippee, the cup's manufacturer.
Though the company doesn't have any back stock of the cup, they have thrown themselves into the search, even releasing a helpful guide for identifying the right cup.
So far, they have turned up several replicas of the cup, and are still looking for more to help out this sweet family.
If you happen to have this sippy cup or know someone who does, you can reach Marc on Twitter @GrumpyCarer, or message Tommee Tippee on Facebook and they'll help get the cups to Ben.
And if you don't have the cup, make sure to SHARE to help this story reach as many people as possible!
