Trying New Things

My son Will is a very picky eater, preferring grilled cheese, cheese and mayonnaise sandwiches, cheese pizza, macaroni & cheese, and chicken nuggets. He winces and gags at the sight or smell of fruit, and the number of veggies he'll eat can be counted on one hand. His summer camp counselor took my suggestion that he try new things seriously, urging Will to try three new things each day. So when he got home from camp, we continued the "Try New Things" program, and - despite frequent and at times vehement resistance - Will is expanding his food repertoire.

Here he is trying (and liking, though you can't tell by his face) the pumpernickel croutons at Ruby Tuesday.



Here he is giving a decided thumbs-up to my home-made tomato basil soup!



Will has also given the thumbs up to vanilla yogurt (but don't throw in any fruit, please), watermelon (though it's really hard for him to process the texture), frijoles and rice, spaghetti, and lasagna.

Most fruit still gets a decided thumbs-down, but we are making progress.

We also extended the idea of trying new things to activities that don't involve food. Will has become increasingly explorative over the past 3 years or so. As a child with a disability, he must try much harder than typical kids to accomplish the same things. But that does not mean he's not willing to try.

Here Will is walking a neighbor's dog. Of course we stayed very close by and Chuck rigged the leash so that Will could easily let go if the dog pulled him off balance.


Here he's riding in a neighbor's battery-powered car. Again, we stayed very close by because his steering isn't very good. We'd really like to get him one of these!