This Christmas was THE BEST! Bradley was REALLY in the Christmas spirit and enjoyed this year so much!!! His interest in Christmas began in November when he saw a remote controlled, robot spider at Radio Shack and decided that is what he wanted for Christmas.
Bradley and Max saw Santa many times this Christmas season. Each Santa visit Bradley was joyful, polite, and eager to share his robot spider wish with Mr. Claus. Max was not as happy to see Santa...
Every Christmas movie that came on was an instant favorite. We watched Rudolph, the original animated Grinch, the Jim Carey remake of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Will Ferrell movie Elf, Frosty the Snowman, Here Comes Santa Claus, Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (this was Bradley's favorite), and An Elf's Story (the DVD that accompanies the Elf on a Shelf book and doll). Bradley loved our elf on a shelf and named him Jimmy (very similar to the dvd's main character, Chippy). Each morning Brad enjoyed searching for where Jimmy was camped out for the day. If you haven't heard of the Elf on a Shelf, check out: http://www.elfontheshelf.com/
We had fun anticipating Christmas Day. The boys enjoyed their daily piece of chocolate from their advent calendars. We looked at Christmas lights as a family. Bradley played the role of a shepherd in our church's nativity story and really enjoyed the candle light ceremony at church.
Christmas Day finally came and the boys were very excited to see what Santa brought!
The boys were blessed to spend lots of time with family and were showered with presents
Picky eating can be a challenge many parents struggle with for any child, not just children on the autism spectrum. Bradley's tastes have expanded and he is more willing to try new things. However, his tastes are still limited compared to his 21 month old brother, Max. Meal time can be a bit challenging, but I try to make it as relaxed and comfortable as possible for everyone.
Earlier this year I attended a training that addressed food anxieties for kids on the autism spectrum. The presenter compared chronic food pressures to PTSD like symptoms. I'm not so sure that Bradley has had any post-traumatic stress when trying new foods, but I can see the anxiety in his eyes at times. If Bradley is not fully committed to what he is eating his gag-reflex becomes super sensitive and he cannot keep even the smallest morsel of the new food down. Give Bradley a piece of pizza or plain cheeseburger and he'll effectively chew a mouth full of food and clean his plate.
To make lunch time more enjoyable I draw on Bradley's lunches. This isn't an every day thing, but I try to think of things we've talked about or something he really enjoys (super heroes for example) and hand-draw it on his ziplock bags. In a previous post "Bradley can read," I discussed writing sight words on Bradley's lunch bags too. Here are a few pictures of our lunch kit fun.
