When we started receiving therapies for Danny, we knew changes would not come quickly. These things take time; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Right? Right.
So how come Danny is taking leaps in his eating?
Who knew OT would be so…messy?
The truth of the matter is that OT has had little to do with Danny’s eating so far. As well-intentioned as everyone is, we have only had 2 sessions with her. Technically we are authorized for once a week, but all sorts of other things have gotten in the way. Danny’s progress lends a little to what I learned on the first session and a lot just to our experimenting and Danny’s hidden talent: making us look silly.
I didn’t have the pleasure of being at Danny’s second OT visit; I was in an airport at the time, waiting to catch a flight home from a day trip across the state to train someone on one of our programs at work. This one was all John’s, and when I got home, I was anxious to hear how it went! I had learned so much in the first session that I thought this second one would be full of goodies too.
My husband looked up at me over the table between us and gave a look, not really a smirk, not really a roll of his eyes, but just a … look. “He’s trying to make us look stupid.”
Of course, that could be taken many ways, and I – being the worry-prone mom – took them the bad ways. He’s failing miserably – he’s gone back to only baby food – he wouldn’t eat anything at all. I voiced none of that, and told myself immediately how silly those thoughts were; I know better where his skill level is at. So I thought.
“He ate Jello by taking the spoon and putting it in his mouth.” …my son self-feeds?
“He ate muffins.” …my son eats something solid like muffins? Surely in tiny little pieces.
“By taking big bites – by himself.” …my son bites things?
“She got him to chew on a graham cracker, and when a piece broke off, he grudgingly ate it.” …my son actually will eat stuff that breaks off in his mouth?
I was reeling. Of course, it isn’t as spectacular as it sounds on the surface; by self-feeding, he will reach out and help guide the spoon into his mouth, after some encouragement. And he’ll only bite and eat the muffins if someone else is holding them. But still, these are some pretty huge steps that he surprised us with.
If Danny wants to make a liar out of me like this, he is more than welcome to, any day of the week.
Tags: occupational therapy
