Chicken Nuggets and Curly Fries

My parents are what I consider to be gourmet cooks. I grew up eating my dad’s mouthwatering Eggs Benedict, Welsh Rarebit, and Cassoulet, and my mom’s fabulous cole slaw, Brennan’s potato salad, and homemade cheesecake. Together they made the best turkey gravy on the planet. Thanksgiving was always a savory treat. When I started cooking for myself, I followed their lead. I learned how to use Cajun spices, to liberally use Tabasco, and studied the art of making a decent roux.

I never met a veggie that I didn’t like. Brussels sprouts, spinach, turnip greens, salads of all kinds....I thought they were all delicious and couldn’t wait to share a variety of terrific meals with the family I planned to have one day.

And that day came…but in no way resembled the fantasy floating around in my head! My husband, Ed, is willing to try just about anything I cook (thanks, sweetie). But Ed and I were not prepared for the “culinary piece” of the sensory issues that come with having boys on the autism spectrum.

Our two sons couldn’t be more different in their taste preferences and tolerances. When they were young, I insisted that the boys “try a bite” of everything on their plate. My older son literally threw up at the table on two different occasions. My younger son would throw tantrums of such proportions when asked to “try a bite” that the neighbors could hear him two doors down! Where were the sounds of “please pass the peas” or “save some of that Szechuan beef for me”?!?

My dreams of amazing family dinners were shattered. The reality was (and is) that my boys can simply not tolerate many smells, tastes, and textures. The thought of tasting a Brussels sprout would probably send both boys into an orbit from which they would never return. They both agree on one food, however…French fries are fabulous favorites! And chicken nuggets.

(For those familiar, we tried the GFCF diet with both boys while they were still young. My older son showed no improvement, and my younger son showed some gains on the diet. For a couple of years, he was gluten-free. But over time, we discovered that with digestive enzymes, he could eat wheat without negative effects.)

And here we are…many years later. We’ve had to accept that there are battles not worth fighting. As any parent of a special-needs child knows, there are exhausting challenges which we face every day. Ed and I are learning to focus on the most pressing matters. Issues that seemed important “before autism”, have become insignificant. (E.g., there’s no point in teaching “don’t talk with your mouth full”, when your child is just beginning to talk at age four or five).

The “sensory integration piece” continues to affect so many areas of the boys’ lives, not just their food tolerance. We still encourage them to try new foods, and they are getting much better at it.

As we take a light hearted look back, we have to laugh at some of the culinary chaos that’s come our way. We remember those earlier days and have put together a video that depicts some of our favorite food struggles and memories. Hope you enjoy.
Bon appetit!

The Fairly Odd Family Geocaching

Brian approached us recently, all excited about a contest he had seen on Nick. It was called the "Wii Fit Family Challenge", and the winning families would receive a trip to Florida. All that was required was for us to submit a short video showing our family, in action on the "Wii Fit" or engaged in another fitness-related activity. Since we don't own a Wii Fit, we opted for one of our favorite activites, geocaching.

I wrote up a simple script...the boys loved memorizing and acting it out! We were not selected as "Wii Fit Family Challenge" finalists, but it was a great day...for a hike, a geocache, a few laughs, and just for being together.