Dr. J ate four blueberries a couple nights ago. FOUR BLUEBERRIES! Do you hear me!?! Some of you may be looking at my bolded italic capital letters and think, “What is she so excited about?” Others of you are reading those letters and smiling, maybe even laughing, understanding exactly why those letters are bolded and italicized!

You see, among Dr. J’s issues are food sensitivities. Some of it is texture related. For Dr. J, eating a blueberry is about as brave as a junior high boy changing in the varsity locker room! (maybe Dr. J is braver…) Earlier in the week at bedtime, I asked him to eat one. Just one. He was very hesitant, but he complied. You could tell the moment the blueberry exploded in his mouth by the grimace on his face. Poor kid. I felt like I was torturing him!

Then in the morning I simply put a blueberry in the bowl with his other fresh fruit (yes, he is eating strawberries!). I had been reminded by a reader comment on this post that having the food stay on the plate, not necessarily eaten, is often a first step for an autist food victory. He didn’t eat it, but didn’t meltdown, either.

That evening I put a single blueberry in with the other fruit again. He yelled to me from the living room, “Mom! I ate my blueberry!” I almost dropped whatever I was working on in the kitchen. I made the biggest deal over that little blueberry!

As the practice progressed, one night after bed Dr. J was quite hungry. I had already offered him strawberries and he declined. So when he asked for them, I had to tell him they were all gone. I had eaten them because he told me he didn’t want any. “Well, can I have four blueberries?”

“Four blueberries?”

“Yes, and five cantaloupe and some grapes.”

You better believe I made that quirky fruit salad with the specific number of each fruit! And he ate all four blueberries. He ate them last, but eat them he did! And this mommy was ecstatic.

Welcome to a new summer series on Many Hats Mommy–“Growing up with Autism.” I have invited guests to share success stories: times their children have shown great maturity in being “grown up” by facing their fears, or working hard to make progress, or whatever triumph they’d like to share. I hope you enjoy the series! I know I’m going to. You might even want to subscribe via email (top right) so you don’t miss any of the fantastic stories!