I watched my sensory child squish fish between his fingers as he then put it in his mouth. Chicken gets squished in his toes more than his fingers, but it happens too. In the grand scheme of food, he’s actually a great eater. Way before I understood how difficult food could be for him and autism wasn’t even something I understood I knew I was going to make sure he always tried new foods. This was easier said than done, but we’ve gotten there. Owen was dairy and gluten free for many years. I had a friend tell me about a video they watched concerning milk and autism, the brain-gut connection sometimes called leaky gut. I then had one of his therapists explain to me how sensitive people with autism could be to food. She told me I should try to rotate brands and not let him see the labels. These steps I believed significantly helped me work with Owen‘s eating habits. We got a new TV and Owen was watching Winnie the Pooh in French on his tablet and English on the TV. It had been years since we’ve had a TV. I got rid of it when he started trying to knock it off the stand and throw things at it as soon as I would walk out of the room. It was his way of getting my attention to say the least. Today was the first time we had it on. He was very excited. I made one slight fail I showed him that he could have YouTube on it. He wanted to watch a particular show, but he only wanted the theme song and once it was over he wanted me to start it again. I did it a few times and then turned it back to Winnie the Pooh. For hours and hours and hours, so well over seven hours he repeated off and on the name of the show he wanted. It’s not a casual repeat it’s a constant repeat. He breathes, he moves on for a few minutes, and then he asks again for ten minutes or twenty or thirty straight. Literally every time he stops his words start again. This is something that he has always done, but in the last month, it is a constant. His words as he fell asleep where “I need a big hug” and asked for the show. And finally, he was asleep. How do you keep a routine when there is nothing routine right now. He asked to “call church”, bowling, school, family, friends, but as soon as I offered to call any of them he ran screaming from me covering his ears. Potty training regression is something that I don’t want to think about, but then as he was starting to fall asleep he got up to go on his own. Something he hadn’t done all day. That’s the moment I cling to. That’s the moment I want to remember. He kissed me today saying, “I wuv ewe” and that’s the most important memory for the day. Today is one moment in time. Celebrate your victories, rejoice in the glory, and know tomorrow is a brand new day. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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