Johnny Likes It...

We love to eat in our home and love to experiment with many different foods and recipes. When we learned Johnathan had autism we wondered what that would mean for Johnathan's eating habits. I had experience with other autistic students that had a very small amount of foods they would eat. Other students had to eat a restrictive diet because certain foods could cause stomach irritation.

I'm happy to say that is not something that we have to be concerned with Johnathan. Johnathan loves to eat and there are very few foods he avoids. We've learned that some foods have a positive effect on him. We know it's important for Johnathan to have protein during the day. He usually has protein for at least two meals a day. If he doesn't have enough or he is having an especially off day we will often make him a peanut butter sandwich or find a snack containing peanut butter to give him a boost.

When it comes to drinks Johnathan's go to drink is milk. He usually has milk with most of his meals and often asks for a glass of milk when he gets thirsty during the day. We have learned that Johnathan refuses to drink any chocolate milk though. It has to be WHITE milk. Also we have learned that when he has a cold to limit his milk intake. He will often be thirstier when he has a cold but the milk is too heavy for him and usually leads to him throwing up. Therefore we have gotten Johnathan to drink more water. He loves having a glass of ice water and takes a cup of ice water to school each day. They fill the cup up throughout the day so he has a drink on hand when he needs it. Johnathan loves to have pop when we go out to a restaurants or on special occasions at home. He of course loves coke products and usually will pick one of the following depending on where we are: coke, sprite, root beer, and orange. Usually whatever Jim is drinking is what Johnathan will choose to drink to.

When it comes to his favorite foods the list is super long. If you ask him he'll usually say pizza, cheeseburger, or macaroni & cheese. Pork products are certainly high on his list of foods that he likes seconds (and sometimes thirds of). Be it a pork chop, sausage patties, or ham he loves to have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When it comes to snacks Johnathan usually likes to have a healthier snack like a banana. He does enjoy a sweet snack every so often though like m&ms, cookies, or nutty buddy bar.

Not only does Johnathan enjoy eating food but he enjoys being able to help make it. When Jim is cooking Johnathan usually watches him intently. He observes every step Jim makes and often knows each step when Jim is making popular meal. Johnathan loves helping mommy bake and usually gets involved in the mixing of the ingredients.

 One thing we have learned with Johnathan is he does things on his schedule and not ours. Therefore we've learned the importance of making sure Johnathan eats regularly. Johnathan can not usually tell us that he is hungry but there are certainly signs that let us know. When Johnathan gets hungry he has a hard time dealing with things. He can be easily frustrated and this can lead to one of his meltdowns. He will also speak less when he is hungry and instead use more of his grunts and whines during this time. We try to remember to keep snacks on hand for when his hunger sets in unexpectedly. Some times it means stopping in the middle of an activity to get some food for him. On the other hand there are times when Johnathan doesn't want to eat even if it is a meal time. When this happens we try not to push him to eat. Usually we'll just wrap the food up and save it for later. Leftovers never go to waste with him because if he doesn't eat it right away later he will eat it.

I love the fact that Johnathan enjoys foods that some would consider too 'exotic' or different. Johnathan has eaten seafood bisque, gnocchi with mushrooms, and even jalapeno poppers.We know how lucky we are that Johnathan is so open to trying foods and eating a variety of foods. Some weeks he'll have a lot of the same things over and over again. Most days during the week he'll eat the same cereal for breakfast every day and he has a select couple foods that his lunches consist of every week. There's nothing wrong with that as we know the importance is that he is getting meals that satisfy his hunger and will help him through his day.