he ate a hot dog!

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My husband has been doing so great at getting our son to try new foods. Here is the strategy:

He picks something very kid friendly (last time was pizza) that is almost sure to be a success. (Our son's food issues seem to be mainly fear of the unknown, aside from a mild aversion to soft foods.) Since our son loves ketchup, hot dogs were a good choice.

He introduces the idea of the food ahead of time, to let it percolate for awhile.

He does it in a pleasant context. He took our son to his favorite amusement park to try the hot dog.

When the food is a success, he makes the next try at it a different form, so our son won't get the idea that it has to taste exactly one way. Today he took him for a convenience store hot dog. He wants to do corn dogs next -- I objected to that, since they're junk food to me, but he thinks that extending the idea of what a hot dog can be is valuable.

I'm especially thrilled that it was a hot dog in the bun. Although my son loves starch, he never eats burgers in a bun, or most forms of sandwiches.

Our son has been doing a game of awarding himself (and us) points for achievements, and of his own accord has decided he wants to try five new foods and give himself points for that. I hope it's not just a whim and he'll follow through. He decided his next food would be an orange! The closest he's gotten to a fruit in 7 years is raisins.

Today he awarded himself for a Double-Take Achievement, for trying the second hot dog.

I know hot dogs aren't the healthiest food ever, but when your kid has such a limited diet, any new food is a triumph and makes life so much easier. And I can buy the healthiest kind to have at home.

I'm very proud of your son, as well!

Wow,this is excellent. You guys (and your son) are really making this a fun experience.

We had one son on the spectrum who didn't like to try new foods (and still doesn't, at age 24). When he first tried hot dogs at age four, his response was "these aren't near as yucky as I thought they would be!" That is now a classic family saying, applied to all sorts of new food experiences.

Our other son on the spectrum constantly tries new food. He's really adventurous. So, I've learned that you can't really say that all AS people are one way or another about food. They are all over the map, just like the rest of us!

Congratulations!

Uhm...I will point out, however, that the only difference between a Hot Dog and a Corndog is that a Corndog is wrapped in cornbread rather than white bread. Which is to say, it doesn't contain as much starch, which turns to fatty sugars in the digestive system. The Corndog is probably actually more healthy - let's say less unhealthy, than the standard hot dog. IMHO white bread is always to be avoided in lieu of either wheat bread or cornbread - A huge white bread dinner roll fresh from the oven is delicious, but that stuff is the devil when it comes to weight control. Potatoes, too.

Yay!! !

As the mother of a boy with a very limited diet, I feel your joy!

Isn't deep fat also involved in the corn dog process?

I'll be having whole wheat buns at home; may have to make them myself.

I was a very picky eater as a child and teenager and am now pretty adventurous -- adore sushi, especially eel. I don't think we'll be trying that anytime soon though!

Congratulations!

Good job. Now that your child learned to enjoy, or at least tolerate, hot dogs, make them healthier. Pile on vegetable toppings, like chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, relish, sauerkraut, and/or a pickle wedge. He'll get at least a little bit of vegetables this way (don't know how he handles them usually). Basically, handle it on a case-by-case basis, and hope for the best.

Oops, didn't realize that. In that case, stick with the mustard only. However, you may want to look at this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog_variations, and decide what type of hot dog your son might enjoy.

And today he ate Mandarin oranges!

I've never seen him so relaxed about trying a new food. It probably helped that it came in a can.

He's going to give himself a big point bonus after trying 5 foods, but awarded himself extra "Fruity" points.

OMG, I just overheard him and his dad talking about what other new foods he's going to try and he said "this will be the most fun I've ever had!"

willaful - sounds like he's turned over a great new leaf! Congrats to him and to you and his dad for having the patience to deal with his food issues. My DS is not as limited as it sounds yours is and I often find myself feeling frustrated by his refusal of foods. Guess I need to work on that part of myself. You've given me some good inspiration!

It's been hard and my husband especially used to get into power struggles with him about it. I am so happy that he got over that and has started this productive new strategy. I think he finally realized that it was truly about fear.

awwwwhz
that's awesome

& there are so many different kinds of pizza

We have gotten him as far as pepperoni, but no further.