Rough patch

B is challenging us lately. On many levels. He has been nearly impossible to motivate and his self stimulatory behaviors have been even harder to control. There have been numerous therapy sessions where we've had to stop running programs all together and just try to engage him. He has either given up or is just completely checked out. Hubby thinks he's bored. Our team thinks he has just caught on to this whole gig and figured out how to get out of it. It's probably a combination of the two. But to say that it's disconcerting would be an understatement. It's distressing, disturbing and scary. We all have a LOT invested here. I keep hearing that it's good for kids to push back. Those with the best outcomes typically do fight back from time to time. It's far, far better than apathy. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Our team is on it. We have some elaborate plans to try to reign him in. In the meantime, the best way for me to describe it is draining. I'm more than tired. I am completely drained of energy. Parenting a child with autism is no picnic. There is nothing intuitive about it - most of the time, we are instructed to do the exact opposite of what we want to. Every single thing we do with or for B requires an elaborate thought process. And it's every waking minute of every day. Most people would say that parenting in general is a hard job. I don't mean any disrespect to fellow parents but truly, you have no idea.  Here's hoping he turns it around soon.

On a bright note, we have made some gains in the food department. Our picky, restricted eater has tried quite a few new things lately. We tried to do a structured approach in therapy but it backfired. With a more relaxed approach, he has sampled all of the following lately:

a turkey/swiss grilled sandwich
jelly beans
chocolate covered raisins
cinnamon coated almonds
2 new yogurt brands
a couple of new cereals
gorgonzola crackers
gatorade
gummy vitamins that he shunned for the last year
pizza from a new place

There may be a couple I'm forgetting. Yes, I know that most of these are not high on the nutritional charts but we are talking about a kid who literally only eats about a dozen foods. Progress is progress.

Mac N Cheese with a fork!

It has been far too long since I've posted and it's not due to a lack of developments... just lack of time and/or motivation, I suppose. So I have lots to catch up on but for now I'm excited about one very small, very hard-earned step. B used a fork to eat Mac N Cheese! I looked back at the blog and it has been close to FOUR months since we decided he needed to use utensils for his mac n cheese. Mind you, I haven't been presenting it on a daily basis but there have been lots of opportunities and he waited it out for FOUR months!!  I got him to take 1 bite last week and today, he ate half with his fork and half with his preferred hands. That's one small bite for B... one giant LEAP for mom! I have high hopes for expanding his diet going forward.