Autism and Food!

On a recent trip to Hong Kong and Vietnam, I was offered a taste of snake soup. My imagination went wild and it made me feel a little nauseated. I also had a bag of cooked Quail eggs thrust towards me.... I am not good with eggs at the best of times and there was no way I could bring myself to sample one, although I did have fun snapping a few photographs!

Unlike me, Nick doesn't have any preconceived ideas about what he could be eating! However, he is an extremely picky eater; although to be fair, sensory issues most definitely play a role in his unwillingness to try anything new. When I think about experimenting with Nick's limited range of food, I try to take into account my own feelings when confronted with a food that I find scary unappealing. This has helped me to be more mindful of how I introduce new tastes and textures to Nick.

If you have been following this blog for a few years, you will know that Nick's food issues got so bad that he was refusing everything except cereal. I had to take a stand and do something about it. Over time, Nick has come to understand that I have one rule and that is he must try one piece/a small morsel/sample of what I offer him. I don't make a big deal of it and Nick knows that I won't make him eat anymore than that one taste. Having this rule has helped tremendously and his food intake is so much better than what it was two years ago.

I also use the concepts, 'same but different' and 'edge plus 1'. For example; Nick loves Macaroni Cheese. One day I added a couple of cooked peas. I told Nick that he was having the same Macaroni Cheese, however, it was a little bit different because of the peas! Over time, I kept adding more peas and he now gobbles them up with ease. Recently I started adding a tiny bit of finely chopped chicken breast.... and again, I will gradually increase the amount and size of the chicken pieces.

Our food journey is a long story and one that doesn't have an end in sight. My aim is to make it an enjoyable and encouraging adventure.

Autism Awareness ~ Outings

On the spur of the moment I took Nick down to the local cafe for a milkshake. We are regular faces there and everyone is incredibly friendly and accommodating. The waiters are mindful about waiting for Nick to choose his flavour of the moment and even go so far as to bring extra serviettes without being asked.

We have a number of regular places that we visit and the staff generally go out of their way to assist. During a visit to the supermarket, the checkout lady mentioned how much Nick has grown. I was surprised to learn that she has seen him many times over the years and recalls him as a small boy. My bad... I didn't recognise her!

Recently we headed down to a beachfront cafe and I was astounded to be greeted, "Hello Di", by a waiter who I hadn't seen for at least two years. He saw Nick and came over to check if it really was 'us'. I could have hugged him!

As Nick has become more flexible about visiting new places, we are always keen to expand our horizons. In the early days, I used to get such a knot in my tummy just thinking about introducing any form of change. However, these days, we just go with the flow and all feelings of nervousness have gone (for both me and Nick).

Thank you, RDI, for giving us the confidence to spread our wings.

Portugal 2015