Not just a song by Whitesnake! I made you sing it in your head didn't I? It's now stuck in there. Yeah, sorry about that.
Anyway, here I am in the grocery store (well not anymore because I'm typing this but I'm trying to paint a picture here so stay with me) and I'm trying to figure out a question that I am sure many ASD parents think all the time.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS KID GONNA EAT?"
With the help of his magic speech therapist, who at this point I am convinced is moonlighting from teaching at Hogwarts, the kiddo is finally trying some new foods. Not only trying them but actually enjoying them. On his terms of course. So that's where it gets tricky because he very rarely explains those terms to me. I get the lucky job of trying to figure it out. Mostly I find myself doing this at 3AM when I should be sleeping. No, that's a perfect time to sit, worry and stew.
So here we are and it's clear one of the new favorites of his hot dogs/sausages. This kiddo has been chowing down on them when we are out to eat. Just call him Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago. (Bueller....Bueller...) I'm kind of stoked about that. Summer is just around the corner. Family BBQs and vacations. Feeding him while we are out just got a little easier. Now of course he's got to do it in his own. He takes it off the bun, wants it cut up and then attacks the whole thing with a fork. Because as he would say "No eating with the hands! Use a fork!" Yep kiddo, way to self prompt!
I have some food shopping to do and I decide to pick some up for home. This being an American supermarket means I will have no less than 43 different choices in brands and kinds. GO BIG OR GO HOME! This is where it will get tricky. I have to figure out which one he will A) Actually eat and B) Is the less evil, less going to kill him slowly, Yes I know about the nitrates, healthiest choice possible.
Cause dudes, it's not just as easy as slipping him a vegan organic free range super duper soy whatits and saying "here ya go!" Nope, not at all. Then I will be stuck with a pack of these he will never touch and possibly this might be all it takes for him to never touch a single hot dog or sausage ever again. There is so many issues with trust when it comes to his sensory issues with eating. Think about a time when you bit into a chocolate chip cookie only to find it was in fact an oatmeal raisin. Didn't you feel betrayed to your very core? I can't screw that up. I won't screw that up. Not when we've come this far. His speech therapist is scrappy. She'd probably slap me.
No lie, I bought about 6 different kinds. Like a hot dog/sausage buffet if you will. I could host a weenie roast in the back yard. You can all come. I got a pool. BYOB. Cause if none of these are acceptable to the Kiddo, someones got to eat them.
You're still singing that Whitesnake song in your head aren't you?
I got mine to eat a piece of fish. and then a day or 2 later fish sticks. Tuna noodles however, no way. The funny part is that I can't stand most fish, tuna noodles is about the only way I willingly eat it.
ReplyDeleteas we say in our house, our son only eats 5 different foods, and they are subject to change without notice, and of course he won't tell us what they are, just what they're not.
ReplyDeleteus: We're having steak for dinner
him: What else?
us: French Fries
him : What else?
this can go on for quite some time until you hit the right item, and yet if you ask him what he wants he has nothing to offer as a clue
My son just started a hot dog/sausage kick too! He's 6 with severe autism and SPD. He eats it cut up with a fork and then eats the bun too.
ReplyDeleteHe is crazy about turkey hot dogs and these turkey cheddar wurst sausages. They aren't the most healthiest, but they're not the worst either.
We are too the point of desperation with our little one. He eats so little and so few things. What he eats one day, he won't touch the next. We've gotten to the point of setting out a bowl or something we know he will eat 75% of the time (cereal) and just letting him graze on it all day. That's the only way he will eat.
ReplyDeleteI too go to the store and pick up random things or things he has eaten in the past in hopes that he might eat just one of the 12 I might bring home.
I say feed him what he will eat... Healthy or not. Like you said its all about the trust.... My daughter was losing weight, with he limited food choices, the doctor said put butter on everything. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo I just tried to purée some meat into her rice & gravy.... No go... Just plain rice & gravy.
DeleteWe fight the battles that are winable... food is not a fight its a .... meah what ever your eating YAY.
DeleteMines on a home made Pumpkin Soup kick..no joke. .im actually quite impressed with it....the childnthat REFUSED ANYTHING ORANGE is diving into pumpkin soup... but first we have to make it EXACTLY how Kahlia her school godess of a teacher and Jo the queen of SSO workers make it with the kids! ( yes they're teaching life skills.. wooohooo) but you know what..she's eating ORANGE and its a VEGETABLE not a cheeto or a Goldfish cracker..its actually healthy. .. now my asd mummy brain kicks in.. yay carrots are blended in... yes pealed zucchini. .. now as long as she doesn't actually SEE me doing the little slight of hand I will be fine. .but you just KNOW that by the time our pumpkins have actually fruited she will be on a RED only diet or a GREEN diet.... but until then my grocery cart has 3 pumpkins a week in it...and all you NT parents. ..keep with your strange looks cos HONESTLY the variety of packages and boxes in your carts...tgats just weird!
ReplyDeleteI love hot dogs, in fact I brought one for lunch at work today. And yes, I still have the Whitesnake song stuck in my head LOL.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the kiddo. Out of those 6 kinds you bought, surely there is one he will eat...
I have spent SO much time & money at supermarkets searching for foods that I hope my kid will eat. After a break from such searching, I recently realized that some favs weren't working anymore, so last night I did another scavenger hunt. So far, one thing was accepted. We shall see how much will end up being tossed in the end. Takes forever to grocery shop, reading labels, analyzing packaging, color of foods, etc. and then the money. But I keep on trying.
ReplyDeleteStupid question here, will the Hogwarts teacher tell you what kind of hot dog the kid ate? If kid goes to store can he show you? May be a stupid question, but since I know one kid on the spectrum I know one kid on the spectrum and that kid could show you.
ReplyDelete