On November 26, a five-year-old student at The Birchtree Center tasted turkey for the first time in his life. He dipped it in ketchup--one of his favorite foods. Other children sampled stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, and one student discovered that even tiramisu can be a tasty treat!
Eating novel foods with unusual textures is a real challenge for many children with autism. Many individuals with autism are extraordinarily sensitive to taste, smell, color, and texture, and they often have very restricted food preferences.
Every year, instructors at The Birchtree Center offer a practice Thanksgiving meal at our center in Portsmouth to help our students prepare to celebrate the holiday. We encourage students to sample some of the unusual foods of Thanksgiving, and we help children practice the dining behaviors appropriate for a big family meal.
This year, students also learned how to prepare side dishes for the feast. Making mashed potatoes in the classroom helps reinforce lessons in counting and measuring and helps students acquire the food preparation skills they will need for productive, independent lives.
Posts
