Showing posts with label autism and food issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autism and food issues. Show all posts

Orange and Green Stuff


Oh my word, I am sick of eating Butternut soup, Butternut and Ginger soup and Curried Butternut soup! I can't for the life of me understand why Nick likes to eat Spaghetti Bolognese three or four times a week. Yuk.

But, hey, it's fabulous that Nick likes the soup. Woohoo, a new food.

I threw him a curveball today by planning a little family lunch, outside on our veranda. Me, the husband and Nick. No iPad, no music, no story CD's. No fruit and veg juice, no yoghurt and no toast with jam. Wow, lots of changes for my boy. We had soup!

Anyway, while we are on a roll, I decided to try something new. Edge +1 and all that. I found some baby marrow spaghetti at our local smart shop that looked pretty good, and I figured that it would blend in well with pasta. When Nick's supper had been cooked, I called him over to watch me serve it up. First the pasta spaghetti, then a small amount of baby marrow spaghetti. I added the mince on top and then chopped it all up.

Nick sat at the table, bowl in front of him, fork hovering over the food. He eventually ate around one third of the food and then started to sign for 'finished'. He ate a tiny bit more while I continued to send him reassuring smiles of encouragement. Eventually I could see that he was struggling a bit and after some thought I decided to remove some of the green bits of baby marrow. Voila, that seemed to do the trick. I guess that after years of eating Spag Bol, having some green in there was totally wrong! Generally, Nick polishes off a large bowl of his favorite meal, however, this time he only ate around two thirds. Needless to say I was really pleased with his effort and the fact that it was a relatively stress free experience.

Slowly but surely we both continue to make progress on this food journey of ours. Adding new foods to a very restricted diet is possible. The proof is in the pudding vegetables!










Setting Limits






Nick is very keen on milkshakes, however, he does tend to gulp them down too quickly. In fact, he is like this with any type of liquid. I have tried on numerous occasions to slow him down. I have modeled, guided and directed.... to no avail.

Nick also has extremely low muscle tone and this is very evident around his mouth. His bottom lip droops and his lips are always apart. Over the last few months he has been pushing out his bottom jaw and placing his lower teeth over his top teeth. We have spent years of therapy trying to help with his tone, yet it is getting worse.

Well, I had a bit of a *aha* moment today when we went out for lunch. After munching away on a huge plate of Spag Bol, Nick requested a milkshake. It was thick and creamy and needed a good old stir to make it easier to gulp down. As is standard practice, Nick indicated that I should stir the milkshake. Well you know, I was just plain fed up with doing the whole stir stir thing. A fleeting thought made its way through my brain... 'what would I do if this was Nick's big brother?'

I looked at Nick and said, "Nick, you are a big guy now and I am no longer going to stir your milkshake. Also, from now on you are going to have to use a straw!"

Well, can you believe it? He used the straw. It took him an age to get through the milkshake, yet he tried his very best. As for that lip closure ~ WOW. I wonder what Nick's tone is going to be like in six months if he keeps using a straw. Then again, I wonder what his waistline will look like if we make this a regular therapy!

Notes to self:

Presume competence
Take a risk
Don't stress if he makes a fuss
Give reassurance and encouragement
Don't be a helicopter parent
Set limits
Remember 'edge plus 1'