Feeding Problems in Children With Autistic Spectrum Disorder:Under Pressure

Hello everyone, this is Alicia, a guest blogger here at Cheri and Laura's Food Chaining blog. My son, Ewan, is often discussed on this blog as is his food chaining experience. Tonight, I'm sitting here listening to my new mp3 player (wow, that only took me a few years longer than everyone else to get!) and I'm listening to some classic David Bowie and Queen...Under Pressure. The song motivated me to get off the couch and come type up some thoughts about food chaining, eating, and of course, all the anxiety and pressure that can come with all the fighting over food and eating. Under Pressure is a little how I feel right now with a new job, graduate school, 3 kids (4 if you count my husband!), and regular, everyday life. Trying to figure out how to keep up our food chaining goals and education with all these new changes in our life has brought me to think about all this tonight.

It still comes down to finding those 'teachable moments' and in these situations quality is far better than quantity. Teaching about food and eating, without pressure, in reality only needs to be a few minutes here and there--not a five hour discussion between you and the kiddo. Often, these moments of clarity come in quick spurts and what may not seem like anything to you, can leave a lasting impression on a young and developing child.

So after a super long day and week, each day has had quick little experiments, tastings, and playing with food. Tonight was smoothies. We were doing a little carry-over from what my two boys did at the feeding clinic this morning with Stacey. At clinic, we made smoothies and the boys got to pick what they wanted in their smoothies: Ewan chose oranges, bananas, orange juice, berry juice, sherbet, and ice while Vaughn chose oranges, orange sherbet, orange juice (see a theme?), 3 pineapple chunks, one strawberry and ice. The boys then got to take their concoctions (Ewan so aptly named Banana Crush and Orange Crush) to some adult patients in another part of the hospital. It was great fun and believe it or not, the boys even got some cash tips and were thrilled with their quarters!

My last few thoughts about being Under Pressure, is to sit back, take a deep breath, and prioritize. Parents and caregivers need to take care of themselves in order take care of their children's needs. Find your teachable moments when they pop up or you create the opportunity and be ready to expand on your child's interests--it will pay off in the long run. Food chaining is a cross country race, not a sprint. It is most assuredly a way of life and not a passing phase. Food chaining is about learning to experience new things in life, food related or not, in a safe and appropriate manner. Embrace it and most importantly, have fun with it!

Alicia