Food and Rainbows!

One of Robbie's home therapist asked my advice. He is a one to one aid in school to a boy who is not eating his lunch. His mother has requested that he sit with the boy until he has eaten his gluten free peanut butter sandwich. I asked if he eats anything else. Apparently he does eat some of the other items in his lunch, but lately not the sandwich. He wasn't sure that sitting with the boy and forcing him to eat would be beneficial long term. A different situation had occurred for a classmate of Robbie's. His mother shared her frustration as her son would eat everything else in his lunchbox before eating his sandwich. She thought that was fine, however the in class aide would try to make him eat the sandwich first. It became an issue. This mother however wasn't sure why it became an issue. If he's eating his entire lunch why does it matter what order he eats it in?


I have been blessed with three children who eat. I say this because I do know some families where eating anything can be a challenge. This post is not to demean those situations in any way.
The first situation may be that the boy was tired of the gluten free peanut sandwich that was packed every day. Robbie used to eat left over macaroni and cheese or couscous from dinner the night before for lunch. He will no longer eat either one in school. It took me a few while to make the connection, but I started packing different things for lunch and problem solved. The second situation is slightly different. If the order in which a child eats his lunch does not concern the parents, than why does it matter? I never pack sandwiches because he doesn't like them. This may have helped us avoid situations regarding what is eaten first. Although I too do not care as long as he eats lunch.


Both situations had me thinking about Robbie's eating habits as of late. I'll be honest. I've been celebrating a bit. Robbie has been expanding his food choices. This may seem small because as I mentioned he has always been a good eater. He does not have issue with texture as many on the spectrum do. We are lucky. However he is very picky. Whether that is in part due to the Autism or a kid just being picky- who knows. He will now eat Taco's- or at least the shell- with chicken and ketchup. May sound gross to some but I think it's great. This past week he ate regular pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. For the last 4 years he has not eaten pasta unless it was macaroni and cheese out of the box. Preferably Annie's homegrown mac and cheese. Friday night we made pizza ourselves. Usually I order from the local pizza shop because he would never eat the pizza we made. Loves to make it- but would never eat it. Maybe I was lucky because it was a new crust I hadn't tried- which was really good. Robbie ate his entire pizza. (Lot's of peperoni and little bit of cheese.- the way he likes it.)
 Robbie has also decided he loves basketball.  Many mornings he asks to play and shows me how ne can dribble the ball. We recently found a rainbow colored basketball at 5below and I think in Robbie's mind he'd won the lottery. (He is a bit obsessed with rainbows. You'll see many in our home- out of legos, blocks, beads, crayons- whatever is available.) He has been playing after school with his therapists. Since his father is a basketball coach this really should not be shocking, yet it was. He's watched it for years and never shown much interest. It's like a light bulb went on. I am happy he has found something he loves, besides minecraft and movies.
I was explaining how excited I have been with these "new culinary experiences"  and his interest in basketball to my best friend.  She gets my dueling sarcasm and genuine joy out situations like these. For us it is constant small steps, or little pieces of the giant puzzle that is Autism and Robbie. Some days they seem to be a dark cloud over our heads and some days they are as beautiful as the giant rainbow on his wall. And that is the beauty of Robbie! We love you Robbie!