Can I just vent for a second?
My full time occupation is Worrier in Chief. I worry. Sometimes I wonder what it's like to have normal kids - but I'm sure someone would say "No kid is normal." But then they meet my kids. And they offer their condolences. This has happened more than once IRL, no joke.
They aren't bad, but they are definitely high maintenance. And I'm not a full functioning adult, so it takes all of me to keep this family working. My main job all weekend was keeping them from literally murdering each other. NOT HYPERBOLE.
The other day mom asked why Thing 3 isn't playing violin. I gave a genuine effort with The Dude, but now, with everything going on, I just can't manage it. I did teach him how to read AND teach hin piano. That's something.
So yesterday while I was fasting and praying about WHAT CAN I DO TO KEEP THESE KIDS ALIVE AND ALSO PIKA, I got panicked about the eating thing. I have a whole list of things to panic about with each kid, so I attached my brain to this one for the day. And I did something dumb. I Googled "how to help picky autistic eaters."
Now, for the LOOOONG suffering readers out there, you will remember that we had the WORST trouble getting WonderGirl to eat ANYTHING. From birth. It was miserable, especially because I was trying to nurse and wasn't aware that every time I nursed, my dopamine would drop through the floor and I'd get suicidal. (Google DMER. It stinks). So it was emotionally a mess.
In fact, 8 years ago when I was blogging regularly, I had a baaad day about her eating that was so bad, I didn't want to even type it all out. So I vlogged it.
And guess what? NOW she eats sushi! And also paper and erasers, but we're working on it.
So I should have known better than to search out answers the eating problems for the Dude. But I thought, He's autistic! This has to be common, right?
YOU GUYS. The answers were all the same. Try introducing things gently, etc, BLAH BLAH BLAH. Everything I tried with WG but didn't work. But replace stubbornness with autism, anxiety and a whole bunch of other stuff. I just don't want him to get osteoporosis.
What I'm saying is, sometimes the internet is an amazing place.
And sometimes, it's a know-it-all jerk.
2 comments:
I was (am?) a terribly picky eater, and I turned put mostly fine. Will he eat vitamins? Chewable are gross, but now they make gummy ones that are basically candy. My picky eater occasionally eats an apple and usually gets a vitamin. Not great, but the best I can do right now.
Alexander also eats things that, you know, aren't food (pencils--like, the wood, the graphite, everything--and napkins and tissues), and pica was mentioned, though he hasn't been formally diagnosed. They think it's actually an underlying anxiety issue, so now we're exploring therapy options. In the meantime, lots of chew things on his school pencils.
As someone on the spectrum myself (though not diagnosed until I was an undergrad), I remember going through a phase of ONLY eating macaroni and cheese with hot dogs cut up into it. I don't know how long it went on, but that was literally all I would eat for a really long time as a kid.
But yeah, the Internet is the suck sometimes.
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