Target is NOT my favorite store any longer. The love affair is over. I’m sure that the people in Target on Tuesday were not very happy as well. Let me start by saying that Riley is still new to the diet and I haven’t taken him into stores because I don’t want him to see all the foods that he can’t have. Fair enough? Well, Riley had an eye doctor appointment this Tuesday and we had an hour to spare. I still needed some things for Valentines Day so I decided to go into the NON-FOOD section in Target. Right off the bat I spot Huge boxes of Goldfish Crackers in the area where the Hot Spot is on the food side. So I carefully guided him over the the movie and book section. So far, so good. We shopped for about twenty minutes until we hit the back of the store which should be pretty safe. Toys! Okay, we can look at toys. We still have time. Lo and behold, there is a wire hanging of some sort on the end cap with goldfish galore!! Many tiny boxes of goldfish ‘I will mess up your son’ crackers. The same goldfish with red dye #40 and other traces of petroleum in them. Riley looks at me, then looks at the goldfish and says, “Goldfish! I want goldfish!” I try to play it off, keep on walking and say, “No, No goldfish.” Then, being fully aware of what he was doing, Riley squeezed my hands, looked me in the eyes, and screamed bloody murder at the top of his lungs! I knew at that point that I could no longer stay in the store and I couldn’t disappear into thin air. I would have to walk to the front of the store while my son was screaming at the top of his lungs and stay calm. It must have taken what seems like half an hour to get to the front while Riley is still looking me in the eye and screaming on and off for the goldfish. I have no idea if people were looking at us or not. I was looking at Riley and calmly repeating that it would be okay and that we would eat in the car. He was still thinking about the goldfish. I finally made it pass the checkers and one Chinese Checker had the audacity the cover her ears so dramatically and ask, “What is that noise?” Still walking I said to her, “That’s what happens when you put food in the toy aisle, lady!” (I may have said some other things but I won’t admit to them at this time!)
Surely my son isn’t the only one who can’t have these bits of venom and has screamed and cried throughout the store, right? Why do stores put candy and crap in the toy aisle and at the check-outs? Why am I the only one complaining about it? Who decides this? Childless executives who hate kids?
That was just one example of the challenges of this diet. The other one happened at a restaurant. We went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant for my dad’s birthday Saturday night. I brought Riley’s special tortilla chips, we were all set. Instead he grabbed a chip from the middle of the table and tried to crawl over me to get to the queso that someone ordered on the other end of the table. We took him out of the restaurant and Alan drove him to Chick Fil-A for some safe french fries. By the time he got back, he had forgotten about the chips and queso, or accepted it, and ate his fries successfully. I still had a GFCF cupcake from VDAY so that is what he ate when everyone ate cake.
I’m sure there will be more of these incidents to come. I can’t wait for all the fun adventures that Autism will bring in the future.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Saturday, February 09, 2008
My Little Riles
We are approaching week 3 on the GFCF Diet for Riley and he is doing great! He has been receptive to eating what I put in front of him and has only inquired about McDonalds, goldfish, and cupcakes 178 times. He is not eating as many things as I would like for him to eat but I think that will come in time. I made homemade crispy chicken strips for him and he looked at me like, “seriously?” So, I am finding out that all I have to say is, “Just take ONE bite” and he will do it. He ate the chicken after that. But, when he took one bite of a carrot, he shook his head and said “no” to the rest of it. Baby steps.
I have been packing a lunch for him and it contains mostly snacks, fruit leathers (which he suddenly loves), and either hot dogs or turkey bacon. Our favorite day is Tuesday because we stay up at Early Class for individual speech therapy. We have an hour in between class and therapy so we eat together and I get lots of time to talk and play with him. Yes, I spend a lot of time with him every other day but we are mostly in the car rushing from one place to another. Not so much fun.
Last Tuesday after class he looked up at me with those big hazel eyes and said, “Early Class is finished. Time for Mcdonalds!” Luckily he was smiling and just said it to see what I would say and if I would cave. I just said, “No, no McDonalds. Let’s eat your lunch here.”
Here’s a couple of cute things he is doing:
☑ He sneezed and said, “Bless You!”
☑ He has picked up, “I’m sorry” and “your welcome”
☑ He says ‘Yea” and claps his hands often when we do something
☑ He is learning to say, “I’m mad” but most of the time it just comes out, “maaaaaaad” like a sheep
☑ He is repeating a LOT of the words we say and looking at us for confirmation
He followed, copied, and played with Kylie at the park on Sunday afternoon
He is getting great at “Who is” and What is this” questions
He is the biggest and loudest singer in Early CLASS and LOVES music!!
Kylie was really great with him at the park, too. These past couple of years have been really hard on her and lately she is either annoyed with him or just tries to stay away from him. Recently, he has been trying to hug her or take her hand and she looks at him like, “why are you doing that? you were never interested in me before?” I totally understand where she is coming from but we are still trying to get her to include him and understand why he acts the way he does. How do you explain that to a six year old, though? We have a great book that she has read and she also made her own book about Autism. It’s called, “Autism’, and here is what she wrote”
Dear Partens (Parents)
Please do not let your child stim. I do not have fun with that. I don’t like when Riley screams. I do not appreciate that. I love when Riley doesn’t stim. I love when Riley plays good. That is great. I watch Riley when he jumps on the trampoline. He jumps good. Sometimes Riley does not like to go to bed early. It is good to have Riley as a special boy. And it is good to have you to.
Alan and I are so proud of her for wanting to understand more about him all the time. She knows that when he “stims” (repetitive behavior) to try to get him involved in something else or just to come tell on him, which she loves to do.
I have been packing a lunch for him and it contains mostly snacks, fruit leathers (which he suddenly loves), and either hot dogs or turkey bacon. Our favorite day is Tuesday because we stay up at Early Class for individual speech therapy. We have an hour in between class and therapy so we eat together and I get lots of time to talk and play with him. Yes, I spend a lot of time with him every other day but we are mostly in the car rushing from one place to another. Not so much fun.
Last Tuesday after class he looked up at me with those big hazel eyes and said, “Early Class is finished. Time for Mcdonalds!” Luckily he was smiling and just said it to see what I would say and if I would cave. I just said, “No, no McDonalds. Let’s eat your lunch here.”
Here’s a couple of cute things he is doing:
☑ He sneezed and said, “Bless You!”
☑ He has picked up, “I’m sorry” and “your welcome”
☑ He says ‘Yea” and claps his hands often when we do something
☑ He is learning to say, “I’m mad” but most of the time it just comes out, “maaaaaaad” like a sheep
☑ He is repeating a LOT of the words we say and looking at us for confirmation
He followed, copied, and played with Kylie at the park on Sunday afternoon
He is getting great at “Who is” and What is this” questions
He is the biggest and loudest singer in Early CLASS and LOVES music!!
Kylie was really great with him at the park, too. These past couple of years have been really hard on her and lately she is either annoyed with him or just tries to stay away from him. Recently, he has been trying to hug her or take her hand and she looks at him like, “why are you doing that? you were never interested in me before?” I totally understand where she is coming from but we are still trying to get her to include him and understand why he acts the way he does. How do you explain that to a six year old, though? We have a great book that she has read and she also made her own book about Autism. It’s called, “Autism’, and here is what she wrote”
Dear Partens (Parents)
Please do not let your child stim. I do not have fun with that. I don’t like when Riley screams. I do not appreciate that. I love when Riley doesn’t stim. I love when Riley plays good. That is great. I watch Riley when he jumps on the trampoline. He jumps good. Sometimes Riley does not like to go to bed early. It is good to have Riley as a special boy. And it is good to have you to.
Alan and I are so proud of her for wanting to understand more about him all the time. She knows that when he “stims” (repetitive behavior) to try to get him involved in something else or just to come tell on him, which she loves to do.
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