All this Drama over an Orange?

The sun was shining and the cool yet comfortable winds were blowing outside. Inside our cozy kitchen however, there was a storm a brewin’…

I asked Jacob to eat an orange for breakfast. OH THE HORROR!!!! There was a 10 minute dance of him hiding in the other room and faking a “very sad belly”.

Finally he acquiesces and sits at the kitchen table. I place the peeled clementine (a tiny version of an orange for those that are not in the know of such citrus categories). He looks over the small pieces of fruit as one might if they suspected they were being fed dog shit.

“I will eat one little piece and that’s all!” He puts it in his mouth and gags. He then swallows it whole. “THAT’S it! NO MORE” he exclaims.  This is his first move on the poker game of breakfast. I see his hand and I raise him the loss of his IPAD for the day. Suddenly, he will try “just one more”.

This card game of his move vs. my move (or threats to lose his IPAD, BLUE RAYS and on demand) goes on for the better part of 5 minutes and he successfully eats 4 small portions of the already small clementine. I see myself as the victor here.

Jake has very specific eating habits which we have discussed previously. His current repertoire consists solely of MILK CHOCOLATE Ensure, Strawberry Blast or Kiwi Strawberry Danimals, Scrambled Eggs, White Bread, Peanut Butter, McDonalds ONLY Chicken Nuggets and French Fries from a very small list of establishments and his only drinking preference is Lemonade (Turkey Hill).

While my prince is in school however, his teacher has been able to get him to try a laundry list of foods that no matter what we do at home he refuses. He has eaten Snap peas, homemade strawberry ice cream, grilled cheese (this just about broke his soul but he did it!) goldfish crackers and pastry.

We plan on having his exceptionally dedicated and loving teacher come over this summer to work with him on eating these foods AT HOME as well. One thing that is common with Jake (and  kids on the spectrum in general) is that they are creatures of habit. He will eat eggs all day long at home but if we go to my in laws house he will not. Jacob also does not like to eat when other people are visiting. He has been known to very subtly (HAHA) say to our guests when he is hungry “Are you leaving now”?

I have dreams of the day that Jake sits at the dinner table with our extended family in front of a plate of lasagna, meatballs, salad and garlic bread.

THIS is something I want in his IEP. J

Up next on Mission “GET JAKE TO EAT NEW FOODS” is ¼ of a ham or turkey sandwich.

  If you live in the neighborhood and hear screaming and crying around noon I apologize in advance, I will try and stifle my tears.

Pray for us. :)

Text Messages I receive from his Teacher when he try's something new to eat in class. Sometimes there are successes and sometimes....there are failures.