Here's the Backstory:
If you've been following me on Facebook, you'll know that Ryan had an astonishing breakthrough this summer when it came to food. He went from eating only pureed, beginners' baby food and oatmeal, plus a handful of other things (Silhouette yogurt, Goldfish Crackers, Smartfood popcorn, and Ritz Bitz cheese crackers), to eating fruit, to trying so many new things.
His new diet included the following: blueberries, grapes, oranges, apple slices, some melons; Kraft macaroni and cheese; green/orange/red/yellow peppers, cucumbers, baby carrots, lettuce (especially Caesar salad); Protinis chicken strips; chicken nuggets, chicken wing and breast meat, pizza, French fries, perogies; ham and cheese sandwiches; Fruit Loops, waffles with syrup; tortellini with alfredo sauce and mixed veggies, cheese cappelletti, lasagna, spiral pasta with meat sauce; whole wheat tortillas, garlic toast, and other things. He also started drinking from a cup 90% of the time and drinking more water (he's usually a milk guy).
Note the past tense. He HAD an astonishing breakthrough. His new diet INCLUDED ...
Over the past few weeks, I noticed he was starting to be less interested in his food. It was getting harder to keep him interested in meals. He was eating less. I figured, okay, maybe that growth spurt is over, so his appetite has slowed down. It'll be okay.
Then, he lost interest in pizza. Okay, well, kids' preferences change quickly, and maybe he had tried so many new things that it was normal for him to drop a food or two now.
Then, he lost interest in chicken nuggets and French fries. A half a French fry here, a bit of nugget there, but most left untouched. Okay, well those weren't so healthy anyway. No big deal.
Then, he started coming home from school with his sandwiches ripped apart or untouched and most of his Protinis chicken not eaten. I tried making him a plain bread and butter sandwich. That worked for a few days, but then they started coming home uneaten, too. The Protinis I tried to give him at home, and he might eat a bite or two of chicken and swallow, but he started spitting out the rest.
Well, he still has his pastas to get his grains, right? WRONG. The boy who loved pasta has come to a screeching halt with it over the past week. He might have a bite or two if he's really hungry. Today, I tried Kraft Dinner and Tortellini Alfredo (two of his favourites) separately, at lunch time, and he refused both. He sat there and stared at his plate, then got up and ran away. When I held the fork out for him, thinking his new "piercing food with a fork program" might be interfering, he pushed it away and got angry. Even when I did all the work, he didn't want the food.
Vegetables and fruits are slipping, too. He still loves grapes and blueberries (his first solid fruits he accepted), but he won't go for anything else. In terms of raw vegetables, he's only eating lettuce (preferably in Caesar salad dressing). We started an ABA feeding program this week with TVCC at JMCC, and the ABA coordinator chose baby carrots as Ryan's target food. In the steps for recording baseline data he's been doing well so far, since it's all leading up to him taking a bite. He jumped way ahead in the steps on his first day; he only had to tolerate it being nearby without protesting more than three times, and not only did he not protest at all, but he grabbed a mini carrot and took a bite. That's good, right? But then he ran to the living room and spit it out on the carpet. That scene has replayed 3 times out of six trials over the last three days. Sigh.
Why I'm Upset
Here's why this is so upsetting to me: Ryan hasn't had a major breakthrough like this summer's food breakthrough in like, well, ever. It was so exciting to see him making major progress in at least one developmental area. At age 5 and a half, he's finally eating age-appropriate foods! Yay! He's trying so many new things! Yay! He can eat what his family and peers are eating (meals are a social thing, after all). Yay! And everyone is so thrilled for him. We've gotten so many comments from friends, family, therapists, teachers, and even his principal, for goodness sake, about how awesome he's doing and how proud they are of him. Do you know how long it's been since we've had something this HUGE to celebrate with everyone?! Yes, we have our teeny-tiny milestones that are a big deal for us, but really, this was the first major accomplishment everyone could appreciate.
WAS.
This is why I'm so discouraged. This is why regressions sucks. You finally have a big breakthrough and . . .
One step forward, two steps back.
My friend often uses the hashtag #autismisatrickybitch on her public Facebook page and blog. I'm definitely feeling that way today. When you think you've made progress, a nasty, unexpected, inexplicable bout of regression yanks you and your child back. AND IT HURTS.
Thoughts . . .
I've seen this food regression building on the horizon over the past few weeks, and like I mentioned in the previous section, I tried to explain it away. But he's lost too many foods, too suddenly, for this to be a simple case of changing preferences. I've also seen Ryan experience mini-regressions when he's sick, but he hasn't been sick over the past few weeks. Well, he did have a slightly runny nose one week, but nothing that would trigger a regression. However, his mood has been a bit unstable again recently (inexplicable crying, very difficult time with transitions at home and school), so maybe there's something else going on, but I don't know what it is.
I did notice that Ryan seemed to going through a major growth spurt this summer at the same time there was the rapid increase in his appetite and the amount of foods he was accepting. Perhaps his body took over and told his brain that hey, we need all these extra vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and calories to grow a bunch. Maybe, now that the growth spurt's over, his body/brain is telling him it's okay to backslide a bit till the next growth spurt. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
What I refuse to do is return to the purees. No way. If he has to live on grapes and blueberries and crackers and popcorn and milk for the next few months, so be it. I refuse to give up on all the progress he's made this summer.
I'll admit, I shed a few tears at lunchtime today. It breaks my heart to see him struggling again in an area where he was doing so well recently. It's also Thanksgiving weekend, which means a big family meal tomorrow, and I was really looking forward to Ryan trying all the yummy foods he's been missing out on over the years. Still, I will give him little forkfuls of this and that tomorrow, in the hopes that he may try something new or regain an appreciation for a food preference he's lost.
I suppose it's timely that his new ABA food program started this week. Ironically, I almost canceled our spot in this program because he was doing so well with eating new things! They will be teaching us about how to present food so it's not intimidating, making eating a social activity, and how to have fun with our food. I really hope this will help us stall, or even reverse, Ryan's current food regression.
***Update--I have a theory.
Not long after I finished this post, I was playing with Ryan on my bed. He was laughing, mouth wide open, and I noticed how much his two front teeth are sticking out. The gums around one looked kind of red. So, I snuck my finger in Ryan's mouth and checked around a bit. Sure enough, that left front tooth is super loose. It'll probably come out in the next week or so. The other front tooth is sticking out a bit, too, and he has one on the bottom middle that looks really crooked. I've been watching these teeth to see if they were going to come loose soon.
Hopefully, this food regression is actually a response to the chewing/eating discomfort caused by loose/emerging teeth. I noticed, at dinner time, that he only wanted to eat Caesar salad. Even then, he was whining as he tried to chew some of the bigger bites. However, when I gave him his applesauce to take his dinner medicine, he gobbled that down.
I also wonder if it's tooth-related because he's been drooling again and playing with his mouth a lot. He's also been grabbing at me and Daddy's mouths and trying to put his fingers in our mouths. He hasn't done that since he was a curious baby. Interesting.
Fingers crossed that this theory is right, and once these teeth come out (on their own--it'll take time), that his eating will get back on track.
 |
| That top left tooth is almost ready to come out! |
 |
| "Ahhh!" That little, crooked one on the bottom left is probably going to come out sooner rather than later, too. |
No comments:
Post a Comment