therapy: Day 1

Goal #1- Get Jackson to sit at the table for meals.

baby step goals:
#1 Get Jackson to come to the table and just sit during meal times.(no expectation of eating)
#2 Get Jackson to come to the table and sit and eat his accepted foods.
#3 Get Jackson to come to the table and see new foods with accepted food without fear/panic
#4 Get Jackson to come to the table and experiment/play with new foods, eventually trying it

This is our game plan to start with. It seems pretty straight forward. But the reality of it is so overwhelming and will require patience, structure, and teamwork. It may take a week or 2 and it could take months to get through theses steps that I have laid out.
This morning John was home so we attempted to have a family breakfast. I put cereal, milk, bacon, and nutragrain bars on the table. We all sat down and prayed like we would for dinner. I explained to jackson that we were going to eat now and we would love for him to join us. He willingly came to the table. Logan poured cereal and milk, as did john and I. We didn't offer anything to jackson and he asked for 1 piece of bacon (a regular accepted food). As he ate, he shifted, bounced, layed down on the bench at the table, straddled 2 benches, and hung upside down from his bench. He ate one piece but found it VERY difficult to be at the table. We re-introduced the sticker chart for reward system and he understood that he would be rewarded for sitting at the table for meal. This was very exciting for him. He lasted at the table for 12 minutes and then asked to get down. Overall, a very good first attempt. He seemed stressed the last 2 minutes about the possibility of having to eat something else and it was obvious he wanted to remove himself from the situation.
As he improves, I will encourage him to sit still for longer periods and we will try to master that before moving on to any kind of food therapy.
Lunch was hard because we were at gramma's with cousins and it was hectic. He did eat 5 wendy's nuggets, a few fries, and drank his strawberry kiwi juice. He seems to do better in busy, louder environments when he doesn't have to focus on what he is eating.
Dinner was 7 pieces of bacon and morning sticks. He was starving when we came in from hours of playing ball in the backyard and a long walk and I knew he wouldn't do well with sitting at the table, so I caved. I guess that is ok for the first day, but already feeling guilty about it. He ate in front of the T.V.
He is now full and happy and headed to bed. I'm tired but excited to see what tomorrow brings!