Eating and autism. Who knew it was "optional"?
How is it one day my kid can't get enough food into him? The next he will survive on one cracker and glass of milk. It is maddening.
The sensory is a HUGE component in this. We're not just talking picky fussy eater. Oh no! It's much more Hellish than that. Textures, smells or even how it looks can be enough for him to be like "OH HELL NO!" This kid is on a hunger strike for a political cause he has not shared with me.
The irony being this kid LOVES to go out to eat. If Anthony Bourdain had more of an obsession with French fries than foie gras, these two cold totally hang. Who am I kidding? I just want to hang out with Anthony Bourdain. He's one cool mofo.
But again, the eating out. Does Zagat need a fry reviewer? Cause the kiddo could totally do it. For free. Well for the cost of the fries. That kid never brings his wallet. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fries go with anything you silly girl. Or so I have been told by him. Yeah breakfast. And what of it? You all eat hash browns. Same thing sunshine! And don't forget the bread. There best be some bread on that table. That 50 shades of brown diet he's on also includes bread, bagels and rolls.
Washed down with chocolate milk. Want to see him go mental? Offer YooHoo. It's like crack to him. I can't even have it in the house because he looses his mind and goes on a bender. We once had a habit of getting him one on the way home from speech on pizza night. He'd have it sucked dry by the time I drove home, gripping the empty container like that creepy hobbit from Lord of the Rings. "My Precious" Then that sad day when they stopped carrying it? Yeah we couldn't go there for a while. I swear they still twitch when they see us come in from time to time.
When we were getting him on meds the doctor probably thought I had lost my mind in his office when he said it "may make him loose his appetite" and I started laughing hysterically. Cause honey he is living on five Fruit Loops at this point. Really could it get worse?
So he eats when he eats. I try my best and offer the best that I can. Some days he will surprise us. Others, well, we just order another side of fries. :-)
You kill me. BOURDAIN FOREVER
ReplyDelete*fist bump* Bourdain is the man!
DeleteWe are dealing with 5 things he will eat and anything else gets a resounding NOPE! We try but he has a lot more stamina in saying NOPE then we do in offering new food. What is so bittersweet is he used to eat everything and anything. Then it stopped. He is a fry addict as well :)
DeleteWe just need to understand that everything they need is in a fry. :-)
DeleteOur son, 3 1/2 used to eat everything (avacados, all fruit, all veggies, etc) & now he eats like, 3 things! And while he's not a fry addict, he IS a ketchup addict. I'm surprised he hasn't demanded ketchup w/ his eggs. He does love chicken nuggets (hooked on the Chick Fila ones), so now I make him homemade ones. I can sneak in ground flax seed & coat them in wheat flour & I feel slightly better about his chicken nuggets obsession.
Deleteyes !!!!! I'm not the only family making four meals a day I have two autistic kids and both prefer their own meals which include about five things to pick from and must be drenched in ketchup!!!I'm on your same page!
DeleteMcdonalds fries, Mcdonalds hash browns and Mcdonalds ice cream and a Pizza Hut cheese pizza in Target food court, not in Pizza Hut though, just target. Every day is a perplexing puzzle with no answers.
DeleteYou are HYSTERICAL! Really.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteSame here, where's the lock on the pasta?! If I'd let him he would be shoveling spaghetti in non-stop! Oh yea and those Chicken Mcnuggets, OMG! Must I go on? Fries, well... he has to steal a few if I am not finished with mine. Yep, It's got to be sensory. Now he is on total refab diet because he was at the point of wearing men's clothes. Only 10, so that's not happening!
ReplyDeleteAll fries belong to the kiddo. I'm lucky to get two if I am served any.
DeleteAll the pasta is MINE! Also all the olives.
DeleteMy brother's favorite food is bacon. That's what he eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Today my sister and I celebrated that he ate a chicken taco for the first time (the whole thing!). It's the little things in life that make such a big impact I guess :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great. It's always pretty epic when the kiddo tries something new around here. I'd buy him caviar if I thought he would eat it.
DeleteOmgosh! You had me laughing so hard!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, a side of fries does make everything better!
I loved reading this. It made me laugh and feel like part of a special group. Yoo-Hoo is like crack in our house too, and the whole "precious" thing soooooo truuuuue. My son is almost twelve and is in mens clothing. He is a giant. Bagels, bread, rolls all that has to be hidden at all times or he will eat until he explodes. We call it contraban and keep it in a special closet along with potato chips and goldish crackers two more huge winners in our house. My son ate only chicken salad sandwiches for two years and then he allowed chicken in any breaded form, cutlets, nuggets, tenders the only other thing he eats is pizza. Pizza is another thing if you don't watch him he will eat the whole pizza. He is so funny, although he is a little better now it used to be so bad that even if there was something he thought was offensive on someone elses plate he would gag. Thank goodness he doesn't do that any more. The going favorite in our housr right now are Kentucky Fried Chicken fries. Adam got an I Pad to help him comminucate and for the first month he followed us around telling us with the I Pad that he wanted to go to a different restaraunt. The funny thing is he loves to go somewhere to eat but doesn't really eat while we are there. He loves to take a doggy bag and eat in the car. Lookout Sonic
ReplyDeleteYour attitude is AWESOME! I have a 5 year old son with Down Syndrome and he too is picky and has sensory issues. Case in point, macaroni n cheese...he only likes the one in the individual cup (Kraft brand). We have tried to fool him by saving the cup and filling it with boxed mac n cheese or homemade mac n cheese, but he truly knows the difference and will not eat any other but the one straight from the cup. This is the same with yogurt, we have tried different brands, but he likes only one.
ReplyDeleteGotta love them!
Oh they so know when you are trying to pull a fast one on them. They got ninja skills dude.
DeleteMy 6 yo with autism is all about the fries!! He will eat plain cheeseburger, one bite at a time, if each bite is rewarded with a couple fries. "First this, then a fry!" He now eats those plain cheeseburgers (no condiments) and peanut butter and jelly, and yogurt along with the rolls, pretzels and crackers. He will NOT touch chocolate milk but is hooked on white milk. Spews the chocolate flavor out. Ice cream is also great, and cookies. When we can get more than two bites of pizza into him, I will party. He likes the bits around the outside that most resemble bread, of course. You are so right about the sensory, how it is cut up, laid on the plate, the color of the plate (stole some paper wrappers from the McD cheeseburgers and wrapped homemade in them!)- all of it makes a difference! :)
ReplyDeleteThese kids take more points off for presentation than the judges on Top Chef.
Deletewow I thought that I waw the only one with this problem, my son is six and he is in grown man clothes already he can't live without Bread Bagels and pizza he picks the cheese off and eats the bread, I Have tried everything but his aapetite does not change,he likes chicken nuggets, chicken sandwich, hamburgers,grill cheese and french fries and If I do not sit with him he will stuff his mouth.It's like he never gets enough and he loves Ice tea we usually boil teabags and add sugar to it,once we put it in the fridge and turn our backs he makes his way to kitchen and pour him a full cup every chance he gets. I decided to buy a lock to put on the door because it has gotten to out of control,diabetes run in my family and I do not want him to get sick he is to young for that, my mom has lost both her legs and her eyesight due to diabees and if I continue to let my son eat this way I;m taing a risk
ReplyDeleteFries rule! Only fries. Oh and water. :)
ReplyDeletewell water is good for ya :-)
DeleteMy son is 12 and has a few certain things that he eats. Grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, ramen noodles, hot dogs, and the only fruits he likes is bananas, mandarin oranges, and grapes. He refuses to eat any veges. This sounds like a lot but he gets hooked on one or two of these and eats them for months then switches. Oh and he has to have ranch dressing on EVERYTHING!!!
ReplyDeletethis is great. my son had fries and a shake for supper last night. LOL
ReplyDeleteThis food thing was the final straw for my son's teacher. She couldn't handle my tall, skinny child sniffing the air before he ate and telling her that her (fill in the blank, perfume, candles, whatever) had grossed him out and he couldn't eat. We homeschool now, and I haven't worn perfume in years.
ReplyDeleteI am new to this site and think it is great!! We have MAJOR food issues!! My son eats Kraft Dinner for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only other food he will snack on is Ritz Peanut butter crackers. Occasionally will have a few french fries but have to be from Mcdonalds. He likes to eat hard cheese.....which has to be the orange cheese as he puts it!! I try to limit this because he has constipation issues. He won't touch fruit or veggies or meat!!! I worry about his health and malnutrition!! But you can't physically force him to eat!! He is just 5 years old and i hope that eventually he will add just even one other option of foods to his diet!
ReplyDeleteMaybe our two could date? Little Miss is a big fan of "50 Shades of Tan" and occasionally spruces up her french fry diet with favorites like cheese-bread, butter-bread, and macaroni & cheese. We've been on mac & cheese, three meals a day, for about 2 weeks now. Feeding therapy this afternoon... *cheers*
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that I discovered your blog. I read your "about me" - and yes, I love someone with autism, and he loves french fries!! It's my sweet grandson...almost three. This "autism" is very new to us. I've shared your blog with my son and daughter-in-law. I know they will appreciate reading it! I will too.
ReplyDelete