My autism fact for Autism Awareness Month – A person who struggles to deal with everyday sensory information can experience sensory overload, or information overload. Too much information can cause stress, anxiety, and possibly physical pain. This can result in withdrawal, challenging behaviour or meltdown.
Today (1 April) Matt turns 21 years old. I don’t know where the time has gone. Luckily for him he doesn’t like a huge fuss, because we can’t do much considering we’re in lockdown.
So, with no further ado… Welcome to this years autism blog hop featuring authors posting on their websites and blogs on the theme of FOOD.
When I was thinking of a theme it was easy to focus on another sensory issue that a significant number of autistic people have. Matt is the perfect example of a young man with sensory issues, in his case it is noise, particularly loud and sudden noises. But he has also got issues around food, not bad issues at all though. Some of his friends will only eat one kind of meal. Or refuse to have food touching each other in a plate, or may only want green food. Matt will eat mostly anything but he soon found that his preference is for Italian food, in particular olives.
Olives are definitely an acquired taste for anyone, let alone a young child, as he was, who was so obsessed with them he would eat them every day. He also likes Sushi, which isn’t on my to-eat list.
I hope you visit the authors taking part in the blog – each one is packed full of information and competitions, and the full details will appear on this site or on my various social media spots as and when people post…
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Hugs, stay safe, stay well…
RJ XXX
COMPETITION
4 Winners, and prizes include:
- $20 Amazon Gift Card (or equivalent in your country)
- A signed copy of Boy Banned (which includes a character on the Autistic Spectrum).
- A signed copy of Texas Family (which includes a character on the Autistic Spectrum).
- Five free e-Books from my backlist
Simply comment below and tell me what is your favorite food or share a childhood memory of food.
Click here to follow the blog hop!
I have many favorite foods but I would have to say lasagna with a side of cranberry sauce! Yum! I am a black olive gal but I do enjoy green olives as well.
Sausages, mash and beans or shepherd’s pie, my mum used to make these frequently, nothing beats a home cooked meal.
I like mainly plain food, roast dinners, meat and two veg, although I also like Italian pasta dishes,
My one abiding memory regarding food from my childhood is having to eat cold pea and ham soup for tea because I refused to eat it at lunchtime. I still HATE pea and ham soup. Ironically, my 90 year old mother has a very selective memory regarding this incident.
I am totally addicted to Italian food and sushi <3
I have a lot of favorites lol, but a comfort food from my childhood is my mom’s potato soup. Every time I’m struggling, mom will make a batch and it makes everything feel better. My second favorite is her strawberry cake with seven-minute icing. She’s made one for my birthday for the past decade and eating it now makes me feel joy.
There aren’t many foods I won’t try. Generally I love new things, but sometimes textures get me.
As a suggestion for something we did (we have 3 on the spectrum), look into Yum Boxes from Universal Yums. We make it a family affair for the 8 of us. Each month we get a box filled with treats from another country. The box also has a booklet talking about the foods, games and recipes. The kids love it!! It makes trying new foods into a fun game and there are a few things that I was reluctant to try that the boys readily ate. It’s a fun family night activity and we all wait for the next to be delivered. It has especially helped open up the 4 year old to trying new foods.
I would say it is pizza.
Love fruit, always have a banana before I go bed.
I really like most food, but I love fruit, specially bananas. My mum says that when I was a kid, bananas would disappear from the table and she would find me afterwards following the trait of banana peels I left behind… LOL
Italian is my favorite food but pizza comes close.
I love having steak since I don’t get it often.
I love fish and chip brought from a chippy of course and chocolate fudge cake and vanilla ice cream.
Happy birthday to Matt
My favorite is a spoonful of Nutella. Unfortunately that happens more than once a day. ?
My favorite food is pepperoni pizza with the spicy cup pepperoni. And Japanese curry but I have to make it myself.
I’m very picky and I grew up vegetarian, so there are many foods that I won’t eat or will only eat sparingly. As for a food I love, that would be cheese, which makes many other things better.
I’m obsessed with oriental and asian food, especially Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai. I also love olives (black and green). Does Matt have an olive preference or does he like all kinds?
Thx for giving a larger voice to autism. My family has 2 members (my niece MacKenzie and my nephew JJ) and we get involved in community projects to support and help autism frequently.
My favorite food is steak and baked potato with lots of butter. Do not have it very often. My favorite food as a child was my Mom’s baked chicken with mashed potatoes and peas.
I have a granddaughter (now 13) who I don’t get to see very often, who is on the spectrum. Your posts about Matt have me understanding more of what my daughter & SinL have to deal with. Thankyou & happy birthday Matt
meatloaf
I love Chinese food. If there is a spacial occasion involving me, my family knows Chinese is a safe bet.
As for a childhood memory. I remember having to eat pork hocks. They were so disgusting but my stepfather made them at least once a month. To this day if I even see them in the store I feel like gagging.
I have a lot of favorites lol, but a comfort food from my childhood is my mom’s potato soup. Every time I’m struggling, mom will make a batch and it makes everything feel better. My second favorite is her strawberry cake with seven-minute icing. She’s made one for my birthday for the past decade and eating it now makes me feel joy.
There aren’t many foods I won’t try. Generally I love new things, but sometimes textures get me.
As a suggestion for something we did (we have 3 on the spectrum), look into Yum Boxes from Universal Yums. We make it a family affair for the 8 of us. Each month we get a box filled with treats from another country. The box also has a booklet talking about the foods, games and recipes. The kids love it!! It makes trying new foods into a fun game and there are a few things that I was reluctant to try that the boys readily ate. It’s a fun family night activity and we all wait for the next to be delivered. It has especially helped open up the 4 year old to trying new foods.
I love Italian food but if I had to pick one dish it would be millet gratinée. I love the lemony sauce.over the veggies and millet. When I was a child I would have food fads. One of them was cod balls in batter (that’s not quite what it sounds like). I’m not sure you can even get them now.
When I was a kid I loved green apples and sour cherries when I could climb the trees at my grandmother’s house to eat them. You always found high in some tree. I still love green apples and sour cherries but at 74 I don’t climb trees anymore. Still green apples and sour cherries remind me my grandmother and her farm
I like sushi. I’m willing to experiment with different types and flavors of food. I can’t take too much spiciness, though.
It’s nice that you and your author friends do this each year. I realize that most of the time when autistic characters are portrayed in books, it’s going to be from a parental viewpoint. Sometimes I think of the “I am not a puzzle piece!” response to the puzzle piece ribbon and bumper sticker that is supposed to symbolize autism. I can empathize with sensory overload caused by noise.
Take care.
I always loved funnel cakes from the fair
Favorite food… that’s a hard choice, I love ethnic food. I’m American, but I dont really like “American food” I love authentic cuisine from all around the world.
So back when Parkay (a brand of margarine) had commercials on about “it’s not butter its parkay!” And the tub would say “parkay” when anyone would ask for butter, my siblings and I were all into that abnoxisiouness. So one family dinner (I think there was only 5 of us then.. theres 11 now), we were at my grandma’s. Now my grandma was awesome, not your typical “grandma” she was hardcore. She served in the navy during korea, raised a kid by herself when her husband divorced her when she got preggo (being divorced during that time was hugely frowned upon), she was badass. So, we were begging each other on, kept asking for butter and someone would say Parkay. And my mom, she wasnt having any of it. She finally told us to stop using her “mom voice” (you know the one… the one that means business ?). So someone had to do it, and asked “can you please pass the butter?” And it got dead silent, we were ALL holding our breath, then you you hear “parkay” and my mom flipped! She slammed her hands down, stood up, and yelled “alright! Which one of you smart alecks said that!” And were were all trying not to laugh and not looking at each other, staring holes in our plates. And then my grandma, goes and calmly reaches for her glass of wine, takes a sip (my mom is still fuming looking back and forth between all of us) and she calmly said “I did, and if you have a problem with it, you can leave my table.” And then the continues to eat. And omg, you couldve heard a pin drop, because, we knew right then, that our mom just got told off by HER mom and we were dying inside trying to keep straight faces, I dont think any of us ate any more that night. That night became legendary in my family.
Childhood memory…coming home after church on Sunday…starving…and reading the comics while mom fried chicken. We had it with homemade rolls, mashed potatoes and corn. Of course…dessert followed. That could be anything from homemade apple pie, chocolate cake or ice cream.
My favorite foods..now…steak and a baked potato, or pizza, or spaghetti. It all depends on the weather, my mood and if I’m cooking or someone else is serving me!
Homemade perogies, cabbage rolls and kielbasa.
I’m kind of late seeing this… My favorite food is probably pizza. I think I could eat it nearly everyday and not get tired of it because there are so many different kinds of pizza. I don’t mean the toppings (I only like cheese) but the way it’s fixed; every restaurant that sells pizza seems to do it differently. 🙂
A food memory – When I was probably around 8 years-old my mother fixed hamburgers for dinner and I didn’t like hamburgers. She was determined that I would eat a hamburger and I was just as determined that I wouldn’t. 🙂 She made me sit at the kitchen table until it was finally time for me to go to bed. I won that battle but I also went without any dinner. She never tried to force me to eat anything again. Over 55 years later and I’m still a picky eater but not nearly as much as when I was a kid. I still don’t care for hamburgers unless they are charcoal grilled. I have never eaten a McDonald’s hamburger! LOL
I’m a vegetarian/vegan. I always have been but I didnt know it and neither did my parents. I was brought up to eat what was on my plate or go to bed hungry. I went to bed hungry alot lol. I just couldn’t bring myself to eat a cow or a chicken or a pig. It just never felt right to me. Now I’m an adult with my own children (3 boys) and they are the biggest meat eaters ever ? 1 is a huge hunter and 1 loves to fish…I dont know who’s kids these are lol
I love Italian food in particular any kind of pasta.
Ham and veg broth, with dumplings. Hated it when I was a kid, love it now x
One of my faves is macaroni cheese British style but only made by my Mum. It’s the best. Never had it as good anywhere else. Yummy!
My favorite food is dry cereal, Quaker Oatmeal Squares and Life are my top two obsessions. I love it dry because I don’t like the mushy texture of cereal in milk.
I make a mean vegetarian lasagna, but anything with tomato sauce and lots of melted cheese will do, meatless though. ?