Not just a song by Whitesnake! I made you sing it in your head didn't I? It's now stuck in there. Yeah, sorry about that.
Anyway, here I am in the grocery store (well not anymore because I'm typing this but I'm trying to paint a picture here so stay with me) and I'm trying to figure out a question that I am sure many ASD parents think all the time.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS KID GONNA EAT?"
With the help of his magic speech therapist, who at this point I am convinced is moonlighting from teaching at Hogwarts, the kiddo is finally trying some new foods. Not only trying them but actually enjoying them. On his terms of course. So that's where it gets tricky because he very rarely explains those terms to me. I get the lucky job of trying to figure it out. Mostly I find myself doing this at 3AM when I should be sleeping. No, that's a perfect time to sit, worry and stew.
So here we are and it's clear one of the new favorites of his hot dogs/sausages. This kiddo has been chowing down on them when we are out to eat. Just call him Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago. (Bueller....Bueller...) I'm kind of stoked about that. Summer is just around the corner. Family BBQs and vacations. Feeding him while we are out just got a little easier. Now of course he's got to do it in his own. He takes it off the bun, wants it cut up and then attacks the whole thing with a fork. Because as he would say "No eating with the hands! Use a fork!" Yep kiddo, way to self prompt!
I have some food shopping to do and I decide to pick some up for home. This being an American supermarket means I will have no less than 43 different choices in brands and kinds. GO BIG OR GO HOME! This is where it will get tricky. I have to figure out which one he will A) Actually eat and B) Is the less evil, less going to kill him slowly, Yes I know about the nitrates, healthiest choice possible.
Cause dudes, it's not just as easy as slipping him a vegan organic free range super duper soy whatits and saying "here ya go!" Nope, not at all. Then I will be stuck with a pack of these he will never touch and possibly this might be all it takes for him to never touch a single hot dog or sausage ever again. There is so many issues with trust when it comes to his sensory issues with eating. Think about a time when you bit into a chocolate chip cookie only to find it was in fact an oatmeal raisin. Didn't you feel betrayed to your very core? I can't screw that up. I won't screw that up. Not when we've come this far. His speech therapist is scrappy. She'd probably slap me.
No lie, I bought about 6 different kinds. Like a hot dog/sausage buffet if you will. I could host a weenie roast in the back yard. You can all come. I got a pool. BYOB. Cause if none of these are acceptable to the Kiddo, someones got to eat them.
You're still singing that Whitesnake song in your head aren't you?