Restaurante Mommy
Restaurante Mommy has reopened under new ownership. They have hired a new chef renowned for her simplistic, yet creative presentation. The decor has been revamped to include a 17 inch widescreen laptop screen for each table. DVD's available upon request. Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom by Scholastic is highly recommended.
Lunch Entree
Monsieur Bob Evans Sausage
Diced California Grapes
Blanched Green Beans
Gluten Free Noodles glazed with butter
Turkey Rice Stir Fry
Dinner Entree
Turkey Rice Stir Fry
Green Beans a la la
Diced Pears
Steamed Carrots
We encourage exploration at Restaurante Mommy. Fingers and food pleasantly mingle together in a loving atmosphere, coupled with cheers and words of encouragement.
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I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's comments that were left for my last post. It feels great to have my own cheering section. I love having a "Hooray!" thrown my way. It does seem like Gabe has progressed quickly. In fact, they are amazed at his school how well he has done. I do, however, want to clarify a few things that may have been misleading...
1. We have been feeding Gabe 2 meals a day using this program since February. That's 11 weeks, roughly 154 meals. That's a lot of practice in accepting the new foods and enabled us to gradually change the texture of the baby foods. We're still taking data and currently video taping every eating session that occurs 2x daily. (We do not currently do breakfast.)
2. Gabe took his first independent bite of food tonight (Turkey Rice stir Fry using a spoon). He also ate green beans with his fingers! I have been hand feeding him for the last 11 weeks. The next step we will be taking will be to keep adding more foods and transition Gabe to snack time at school with self feeding using intermittent food reinforcers. Gabe gets very anxious when there is too much food in front of him. A plate of food seems to get a swipe from his hand with a very clear "No!" The portions have to be small and the choices few. I am curious about how this will go next week.
3. Each time we do a session, it follows a very rigorous protocol. Each bite is timed, there are vocal commands that are said and reinforcers are given at very calculated moments. It works, but it definitely relies on consistency for accuracy.
If I had to leave all the technical stuff out and ABA language it would look like this...
1. Find something that your child loves, absolutely can not get enough of, like a favorite DVD and a favorite food. It has to be something that can be rewarded instantly and also removed instantly. Then, do not enable them to view, eat or use it away from the kitchen table. It will not be as rewarding if they can use it anytime they want. Why should they eat the new food if they can just wait an hour and see their favorite DVD before bed time?
2. Find 3 foods your child likes and one that you want to introduce. You will rotate these foods. When you get to the new food, tell them to open and place it in their mouth. IMMEDIATELY turn on the video and give a food that they like (cookie, chip, small piece of a goodie). You want to pair the new food with all that is great in the world. The other foods do not get rewarded.
3. Try to introduce slowly. If they like pureed carrots, but not green beans, start by putting small pieces of green beans into the puree. Gradually increase until it becomes only green beans. This could take up to a week or more.
4. Finally, make it a party. Celebrate every attempt. Cheer, rub their back, tell them how great and brave they are. That you believe in them. Chances are, they don't believe they can do it or are too scared too.
Good luck to all of you who struggle with an eating issue with your child. It can be very painful to see them struggle to eat what we take for granted, crisp apples, warm pie, a good Burger, grilled asparagus. The last recommendations/ideas are very basic and do not fully represent the intensive ABA techniques used in Gabe's eating therapy. Just a basic gist. For more information please see the following post The Data Speaks.
