![]() While it seems like there are more meltdowns, it probably is less, but he is more vocal about how he feels. For a while, the meltdowns had seemed to be occurring less often, but now with the onset of puberty, Jack-Jack seems to be melting down more often. There are many words and situations that trigger melt-downs. Will you bring some crackers just in case there is really nothing your child will eat? Will you feed them beforehand? Determine how you will approach things before dining out or eating at someone else’s house.Trying varieties helps to see if they like crunchy apples more than they like a mushier variety. This dislike of certain foods could be because of texture. Try 4-5 different varieties of apples, peaches or pears. Start simply with potato chips or something you know your child will like. Be a food detective: Have taste-testing parties.Jack-Jack didn’t have to follow this rule until the last couple of years, and he is now 14, but my other children started much younger. This didn’t always execute the way I thought, but I have used it with all of my children. My rule was: one bite – you don’t have to swallow – if you don’t like it, spit it discreetly in a napkin.Quit listening to the people who say, “My kids ate anything I put before them.” They obviously didn’t have a picky eater.If you are a picky eater, chances are they will be a picky eater. Make sure your children see you eat different types of food.So what is the balance with food struggles? If you are too permissive and allow them to eat whatever they want they may only want junk food. If you are too controlling about what they eat, they will most likely eat less. Even neurotypical children who are picky eaters will use food as a control. But trying hundreds of different ways to get your child to eat will most likely result in frustration and a power struggle. If you have a child who struggles with food and you search the internet, you will find hundreds of different suggestions. He used to love pizza, but he doesn’t any longer. ![]() ![]() While Jack-Jack likes many sources of protein including almost all meats and nuts such as almonds and pistachios, he doesn’t enjoy sauces, seasoning outside of salt and pepper, or pasta. However, because we know that it will be traumatic for him, we have decided to wait until we deal with a few other issues. But this is definitely something we need to work on in the future. We rarely encounter dogs in situations we cannot handle. This is an area we have not even begun to tackle. If you know anything about dogs, screaming and running away is the absolutely worst thing you can do. He cannot tell us why he is fearful of dogs, but when one comes running, he still screams and runs away. He will walk right up to a cow or horse, but a dog strikes terror in his heart. Jack-Jack has a deep fear of dogs and cats and most smaller animals. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT TRIGGER A MELTDOWN FOR JACK-JACK Animal Trigger: So today, I will share some of the things that trigger meltdowns with Jack-Jack, and some of our struggles with autism. If I only tell you the good, you may get a false sense of what life is really like. Because if you only heard the good, rather than be an encouragement, that could be depressing too. I tend to focus on the joyful experiences and tell you about Jack-Jack’s accomplishments, but I sometimes need to tell you about our setbacks and the areas where we are not thriving. We have accomplished so much, but the reality is that we have SO far to go. Because autism is so different for each child and for each family. When you ask families dealing with autism what the worst part is, each and everyone will say something different.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |