Breaking Down Eating

 It is common for autistic people to have a small and inflexible group of foods that they will eat. For both my kids, all their senses were acute. I was also a stressed working mom and so missed a crucial window of getting my kids to eat a variety of foods. 

All this to say that both my kids love carbs and plain foods. For a while I had success with getting them to eat apples and bananas. No more. Tomato sauce on pizza is the closest they get to a vegetable (no, no fries any more either). There was a week where I could get them to eat raw bits of broccoli, because they thought it was funny. No more. No popcorn, but they will eat tortilla chips.

For a while, James had a pretty good diet. Then our world broke up, broke apart, caught on fire, and kept falling apart on us. There were unresolved dental issues. James decided eating was a pain and his dietary world narrowed to cheese pizza, milk, and croissants.

Gradually, I, some family members, school, and ABA have encouraged James to re-expand his diet. I felt like Queen of the World when I got him to eat a warm pretzel in Golden Gate Park during COVID-19 lockdowns. Then ABA got him to make (and even eat) a quesadilla and a PB&J. His aunt got him to try strawberries and melon. His teeth are in much better shape and I think that is encouraging him as well.

Now ABA is providing a nutritionist to work with us on new foods and approaches for James. Like so much else that I have experienced with James, this involves breaking things down (introductions, preferences, actual tastes, bites, chewing, etc.) over several months to support a more robust and healthy diet. Bon appétit, mon fils, bon appétit.

The Power of Pizza

 Picky Eating, Pizza to the Rescue

James and his sister were picky eaters as kids. Both of them eschew sauces, condiments, and mixing of anything except milk with ice cream - with super powers that always detected instantly any added powders or pureed vegetables. James went through a period of refusing to eat. 

For many years, he enjoyed a fairly stable palate of pancakes, blueberry muffins, or waffles for breakfast. Lunch was typically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread. Dinner: chicken nuggets, with apple slices and fries. He ate simple animal cookies and yogurt squeeze-ups for snacks. Occasionally I could get him to eat a banana or pizza. He drank water, milk, and apple juice. There were occasions where we got him to nibble on a carrot or broccoli. 

The life changed, and kept changing ... and not in a good way. By the time we entered lockdown, James was down to cinnamon bread and milk for breakfast and pizza for everything else. He still drank milk and water, and a little apple juice. Then he got picky about pizza - luckily preferring items with low sodium, seasonings, and processing.

In less than 4 years he grew a good 7 inches. Thank goodness for pizza. I was able to get him back to eating blueberry waffles and croissants. He developed a taste for garlic cheese bread. We are working on adding quesadillas with whole wheat, carb-savvy tortillas, pear slices, and some peanut butter on whole wheat bread or apples.

Despite good intentions, often I am exhausted at the end of the day. It is good to have a somewhat healthy option that I know will work. Fast, packable for lunches and trips, and easily found - pizza is our dietary go-to. 

Not Eating ... Again

Another week of behaviour issues. Another week of being thankful James is at a school prepared to deal with them and James as a human being. The Staff and I are pretty much in agreement that James is not eating enough. Again.

Even as a baby, James had a half-hearted interest in food. It was almost as though he ate to be polite. Then stresses and sensitivities arose, complicated by periodic, horrific bouts of constipation ... and James decided to stop eating. BioFeedback was a blessing, and helped get him back on track.

I sound like a broken record, but the last two years have been incredibly stressful. James now takes a bite or two of his food item, then tosses it. He is growing like a weed. I have stocked snacks that he will eat that have as much protein as possible. I provide meals regardless of whether or not he admits to being hungry. And still, this persists.

To the people who say "they'll eat if they get hungry enough" - I once thought this too. Then I had to deal with people who have eating disorders and special needs.

We will be moving again. Hopefully it will be a more permanent and grounding move. We will get the nutritionist back on board and I hope to brainstorm successfully with the school and ABA to nudge James back into eating more healthily. The struggle is real. I remain hopeful that solutions will be too.

Breakfast Breakthrough

James ate french toast again!

Behold, the French Toast Miracle!

For families like mine, this is close to getting him to eat scrambled eggs.

After a week of us both being sick and eating pizza because I had a stash of them in the freezer, this is a welcome change.

Thanksgiving 2017

Rarely have I looked forward to a four-day weekend with relief as I have this year. I don't have to go or be anywhere except the family dinner on Thursday. I love baking, which is a middle-aged surprise for me. I don't bake anything fancy, I just feel a relief and satisfaction doing it, admiring my handiwork, and sharing it with others.

This year I baked cornbread and lemon loaf, having fun with all the tins I bought recently from Sur La Table on sale. I also made a salad and served up my simple green beans in my new casserole dish  (on a sale within a sale) with rooster designs by Jacques Pepin.

James is interested, but still says "no thanks" when I ask if he wants to try some. He had pizza for Thanksgiving, but he managed to sit at the table with us through dinner, despite all the anxiety over the animals that he might encounter at his grandparents' (dog was in his kennel, cats were snoozing in a back bedroom). He looked like he was enjoying himself.

After dessert, (he tried pumpkin mousse pie and liked it!) He found a quiet spot, periodically ambushing his cousins with "can we do Hide and Seek now?" Just before Thanksgiving wrapped, the cousins indulged him in two games. James was delighted. Thank you, cousins!

While I helped with the clean-up, James politely shut himself in the laundry room with his Kindle, so the dog could come out of his kennel and the cats reclaimed their house. We looked for deer on our way home (a new fascination for him) but found none.

The next day, I discovered three things:

1. James likes (regular) pumpkin pie.
2. We are both thrilled to hear Christmas music on the radio.
3. He likes The Ramones (he came in at the end of Spider-man: Homecoming).

He likes pumpkin pie!!!! That practically counts as a vegetable, right?!