Back to food...

The recurring issue in our autism-land.

Today we had JT's med check-up, and he has lost 2 pounds in 2 months.

Sigh.

That means he's down 1 pound for the year.

Double sigh.

The doctor is concerned not only about the weight loss, but about the lack of 'selection' in JT's diet.

We're doing everything we can.

Here's how getting JT to eat a new food goes:

• He hates it, and covers his mouth when we mention it or he sees it. 
• He can hear the suggestion of the food without the mouth covering.
• He can look at the food without freaking out. 
• He can touch the food. (This takes forever to get to)
• He can smell the food. (Again, takes forever from the previous step)
• He licks the food. (This one takes even longer)

So far he can lick a porkchop and take one bite from a peanut butter sandwich. In a year.

He has willingly taken a few bites from a cheeseburger in that time period as well.

His only meats are chicken nuggets (hit or miss), bacon (fairly consistent) and hot dogs (sometimes). He eats no fruits or veggies (unless you count a very specific type of apple juice). He is very picky about what he DOES eat - it has to look the same as it always has in order for him to eat it. Breading on chicken nuggets is a good example of this. If it's 'different', he covers his mouth (see above list) and can't even look at it.

The major issue (besides, of course, the fact that our 5/6 year old is losing weight over the course of an entire year) is that he is starting the stimulants this fall to control his ADHD at school. The doctor is uncomfortable giving stimulants if he can't gain weight. Increasing the dosage has been suggested (because in the 8 days we used it, there wasn't a significant difference) but we can't do that if he's losing weight.

Triple sigh.

Onward we trudge... through food hell.