Day #29

Here is my Maevey Baby eating a graham cracker and believe me it may not seem like much but for a little girl with a hyper active gag reflex and very limited diet it is a big deal to get solids in her. Through food play, suggested by our OT, we have gradually expanded Maeve's diet and acceptance of solid foods. By any standards she still has a very limited diet which consists of: Gerber 2nd foods, cereal bars, some cereals, yogurt, protein bars, various crackers, raisins, and a few other foods that seem to have to have a texture of soft puree or crunch, no middle ground. Cathy OT often says "if you force food on an autistic kid you have already lost", that is why she is allowed to play with her food, feel it, crumble it and eventually some makes it in her mouth, then she realizes it isn't so bad, and then we have chalked up another food to her repertoire. A long process! I was ecstatic when about a week ago I got her to eat 1 1/2 tater tots, yes only 1.5 tater tots but it was a "let's have a party!" moment, not to mention when she finally ate her first minute bite of meat, hasn't since, but it was a step forward. Food texture sensitivities and negative food associations can halt the process for a while but in time we will overcome! :D