Published on 12, July, 2020
Does anyone else have this problem and how have you dealt with it, I'm going out of my mind!!
My daughter is 12 and her traits seem to be on a massive downward spiral just now, I hardly recognise her as my daughter these days.
Her traits are mostly sensory based and she struggles every day with many tasks. However recently her new trigger is around food and other people eating. Being too loud when they eat, or use there knife and fork, its causing so, so many issues in the house and upsetting my son and husband.
She will say that she is not hungry and would rather not eat than have to sit at the dining room table with us, which is our time to come together as a family, and has always been so.
Do I let her excuse herself, do I make her sit with us, do I let her put earplugs in or eat alone. I'm so worried that any of these options will cause further problems for us as a family, won't help her over come this sensory issue and make the whole thing a much bigger problem, one where she can't go out socially now or when she is older.
I'm literally at my wits end.
BumbleBee said:Being too loud when they eat, or use there knife and fork, its causing so, so many issues in the house
how about using a thick tablecloth to mute the sound of the plates / cutlery / glasses on the table, using melamine plates to reduce the sound of metal cutlery on ceramic and asking the family to be more considerate when eating (eat with mouth closed, lower volume conversation etc.
These should cut down the sensory load.
Autists are typically in need of routine to and advance notice of change to feel comfortable so maybe keep set places fo everyone, a set time for the meal and have a menu for her to see in advance of the day whenever possible - all should reduce anxiety.
This may be enough for her to be able to contribute to the normal family mealtime and feel a part of it. Excluding her may help her eat but will add to a feeling of social exclusion so I would only do this if she really can't take the noise.