An Eating Game Question and a Gift

This week a mom wrote to us, “I recently pulled out The Eating Game I had ordered years ago. If you are having cereal and milk, for example, do you use a cereal for the carb and a milk for the dairy?  Another example would be a taco – I noticed it is in two categories. Thank you.  My 14-yr old is very excited to start an eating structure!”

My response was, “I understand your question and debated that issue when I created it. I decided to go this way to make it easier for children to use it independently. So for them the background color is significant. For some they may want on their own to count the cereal and milk as both and I’d agree with that. I thought of pizza having all 4 food groups, actually when homemade could be a healthy meal in itself if there are lots of veggies! In the end the choice is up to you I guess. There are no hard and fast rules.

The key to using The Eating Game is to adapt it to work best for you, letting the basic structure and daily use have the planner making more varied and healthier choices. The visual supports make it easy for anyone to use, supporting those with communication challenges. Letting the user be in control of the choices and creating a predictable eating environment is of course a major plus.

Especially with kids who are over eaters it would be key to focus on appropriate serving sizes.”

I am in the process of creating new food pictures that are photos of foods which will clear up the cereal/milk type of question. We will be offering a special GIFT, a set of food photos to families using The Eating Game who send us their story and photo with The Eating Game. Contact us at jean@theeatinggame.ca for more info about this gift.

A NEW VENTURE FOR EYECAN CREATIONS

Introducing a new partnership between 4 entrepreneurs who have decided to work together to bring top products to parents and professionals working with children who have special needs.

We are Jean Nicol, Karen Lynne Sadler, Mari Nosal and Mary Beth Rochin Palo.

Mary Beth and “Watch Me Learn” bring you Video Modeling; effective video based instruction DVDs. Struggling with therapy that was not helping her autistic son, Mary Beth began developing videos she knew would help him. She was right and others asked for her educational products so they could teach critical developmental skills and social skills to children in their care. Learn more from Mary Beth and others at http://www.watchmelearn.com/about-us

Mari Nosal is a published author who has written many Autism publications. Through her writings she shares her knowledge and firsthand experience with her autistic son, from toddler through teens to adulthood beyond college graduation. Her writing offers support, affirmation, encouragement and hope to parents and professionals. Learn more about Mari’s publications and what readers think at  http://amzn.to/1dqyYcR 

     

Karen Lynne Sadler has created the winning Success Box products. With her first hand experience as an educator and therapist, she has developed organizational storage systems for all the visual supports you use to help your child with communication. Karen’s mission is to organize, inspire and support. Read about how she does that http://firstandthen.com/my-story/

Jean Nicol invented The Eating Game, a program that is changing the lives of children who eat a limited number of foods; providing them with the tools to have fun as they plan and eat healthy meals and snacks every day. Her inspiration was a seven year old boy with autism. Her motivation was to do what she could to help him reach his potential, starting with a healthy diet he would plan himself! Learn more at http://eyecancreations.blogspot.ca/2014/03/the-eating-game-2007-2014.html

We will all contribute to a blog that we hope will provide you, parents and professionals with support you need. Our hope will always be to increase awareness, understanding and acceptance of those with special needs. There will be an emphasis on visual supports that we believe can enhance the lives of those with needs in the areas of communication, social skill development and behavior.

EYECAN CREATIONS is the ideal host for us to share what we have learned and experienced over many years working and living with those who may have different abilities. We believe these abilities need to be recognized and nurtured to help them reach their full potential. The hope is that what we have to offer will assist with this achievement for those you love and care for.

Will The Eating Game would work for you??

Are you wondering if The Eating Game would help your child improve their eating habits? Here are a few questions to consider…………………….

Does your child self restrict their diet?

Do they like being in control whenever possible?

Have you dealt with the possibility of medical, food allergy, sensory issues related to food?

Have they eaten more foods in their lifetime than they are now?

My theory is that for a lot of kids with autism and not, self restricting their diet to a small number of foods is managable so they always know what they will be eating - no surprises, no changes, a very predictable eating environment.

Does your child communicate well verbally?

Do they like structure and routine?

Do they respond positively to visual support systems?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions I would suggest you ask more questions, find out more about what is involved, how it works.

Become a fan of The Eating Game Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Eating-Game/117743845389 and post your question on the wall.

Look at the photo album http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=117743845389&aid=307264 and read the captions under each picture.

Become Jean Nicol's friend (she is the inventor) at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1489691121 and send her a message.

Could These Be The Reasons For Your Child's Eating Challenges?

I was asked to help a family deal with their son's eating challenges. They had investigated medical reasons and food allergies/intolerances and there were no concerns. They often thought it was related to sensory issues but when we listed all the foods he had eaten in his lifetime it crossed all the lines of sensory issues. He would self restrict his food choices; the list of preferred foods might switch every few weeks. He did well in a structured, routine environment where he knew what was coming next. Although he had verbal skills, it wasn't always meaningful communication. He benefitted greatly from the use of social stories and from visual schedules/supports. These supports allowed him to be more in control in his environment, he could stay on/complete tasks and was happier doing so.

I decided that the biggest issues for him and his eating challenges were being in control of the choices and knowing ahead of time what he was going to have for his meals. Sometimes the only way for kids to know this is to self restrict their diet. They keep it to a small list of foods so they and everyone else can keep track of them. Mom and dad never run out of their preferred foods because they are concerned about how limited their diet is and probably give these preferred foods on demand for the same reason ~ which most of us would do.

So now you have a situation where the child is in control of the choices and since mom and dad don't run out of the foods they probably think even mom and dad like their plan! When they tire of eating the same foods repeatedly they switch their preferred list.

So part of my solution would be to continue to let this little boy be in control, let him the foods he would eat for his meals but he would be given the choices, making them mostly healthy choices, starting with the foods he liked or have eaten in his lifetime then gradually adding new foods. I knew it would really help if the choices presented where in a visual format; if he saw a picture of a food he used to eat he would remember that he liked it!

My plan was very carefully thought out and executed because I wanted it to be successful and it was, for him and hundreds more. And now you know the beginning of the story. Read http://eyecancreations.blogspot.com/2011/03/very-special-visual-support-system.html to find out the rest of the story because it gets even better!

Why Will He Only Eat a Few Foods?

Do you have a child who wants to only eat a few select foods? Can you share in a comment below what you do that helps your child? Maybe it will help another child too.

Many kids with autism, perhaps up to 75%, have issues related to eating. Like children who do not have autism there may be physical/medical reasons or there may be sensory issues(texture, taste, color, temperature, shape) or food allergies. These concerns are real and must be dealt with so as to ensure your child has a reasonably healthy diet.

I believe there is another issue for kids with ASD, and perhaps others. Typically children on the autism spectrum don't like surprises. They are able to manage and respond more positively in a predictable environment, where they know what to expect, what's coming next. Why would this be any different when it comes to eating/meals? Aren't meals very often a surprise, until we sit down to eat and what might your child do if the meal is not what they thought it would be? And would you know what they thought it would be? You probably would know if they will only eat a limited number of foods and that is what you always present to them. What they have done is created a predictable environment for themselves so they always know what they will be eating! Aren't they smart! And when they get tired of this group of foods they switch it up a bit for another undetermined period of time.

As a parent you are very concerned when your child will only eat a few foods and you will often try new foods but.................. in the end you never run out of their desired foods and you provide it on demand often because you are concerned about how little they eat! You are supporting and reinforcing their plan!And they know it and like it.

These observations led me to develop a program that would help kids make a wider variety of food choices, their choice. They would still be in control. They would use pictures, chosen and placed on a chart for 6 meals in a day. Now they have a very predictable meal plan for themselves and everyone else to know what they will be eating. It has created a structure that can become part of their daily routine. They can do this if they are not verbal too. They don't have to be able to read, write or speak. The only skills needed are to be able to make a choice and match 4 colors. Oh, and it is equally successful with children who are verbal, read and write and for children who are not autistic. It is The Eating Game!