TOTAL SAFE FOOD MEAL for my autistic 6yo (bc it’s just one of those weeks!) Today’s meal: Miso soup, Costco yakisoba, edamame & some fresh fruits and veggies he typically loves! Parenting an autistic non-speaker takes a lot of observation, patience, trial & error. He can’t tell me what he wants to eat so I have to guess a lot. (He has an AAC he just doesn’t use it reliably yet.) I feel like I’m always keeping mental tabs of what foods will eat, will sometimes eat, and won’t eat to plan his/our meals. Some weeks he will be in an adventurous mood and eat (or at least taste!) anything I offer, and others his eating is so unpredictable. I always offer safe foods on his plate even when he’s in an adventurous mood, but some weeks I can feel that he just wants his favorite, predictable foods so I don’t try anything new or frequently rejected foods. My almost 3yo, on the other hand, can tell me what he wants, but only ever wants “pasta.” Haha But he usually will eat or at least try anything I make. HOWEVER he has my sweet tooth. I’m working on figuring out the best way to make sweets not an obsession. Ya know… “Normalize” them & not put them on a pedestal etc. The tips I used that worked on my older son seem to be having the opposite effect for him so… it’s a work in progress 😂 When I figure it out I’ll let you know what helped! Parenting is such an adventure!!!