Question time.........again!!!!

This is a list of questions my daughter has asked me in just one day.  She constantly asks questions, even following me to the toilet to ask me some more. Below is just a small example of some of them.

 

1. Will I keep my pants on during my back operation?

2. Why is the dogs bum a different colour than the rest of him?

3. When I can I use those tampax things you have in your bathroom?

4. If I sit in the bath when you pull the plug out will it suck my bum down the plughole?

6. Is my riding instructor gay?

7. If my riding instructor is gay does that mean he can go out with your gay friend?

8. When I fall asleep do spiders sneak up my nose?

9. Do you think my boobs will be as big as yours when I grow up?

10. Does God know my riding instructor is gay?

11. Does God mind my riding instructor is gay?

12. Are we going to have hail stones this week at all?

13. Is the guy who works in the pet shop too old to be my boyfriend?

14. Does the queen fart?

15. Do you think Prince Harry would give me his telephone number?

16. When we win the lottery will you buy a house with a swimming pool?

17. Is it true that if I press my belly button my bum will drop off?

18. If the dog eats a balloon will he bark in a funny voice?

19. If the dog eats a balloon will he fart in a funny voice?

20. Will I be allowed to eat takeaway in hospital?

21. Why does the psychologist talk in a funny voice?

22. Do you like that man's hair?

23. Do you think that man likes his own hair?

24. Why does asparagus make my pee smell funny?

25. What are piles?

26. Do you have piles?

27. Do you think I would look nice if I shaved my head?

28. Does my dry skin mean my body is falling apart?
29. Is he / she a millionaire?
30. Would we be able to build a swimming pool in our garage?

And there you have it! This is what my life is like! Sometimes my ears are almost bleeding by the end of the day with the constant onslaught of questions. I know I really should appreciate the fact that many autistic kids are non-verbal and there are lots of parents out there who would give anything to hear their child ask questions, no matter how silly or annoying those questions were. When FD was younger she attended speech therapy because she would only say the middle part of a word and miss out the start and end! Now those were trying days! Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate what I have now. But, sometimes when all you want to do is sit your bum on the toilet for a few minutes and not be disturbed it is a little bit of a pain.

When I reflect back on why FD feels the need to ask so many questions, of course the answer is glaringly obvious. She is trying to make sense of her world, constantly looking for answers the life's little queries. Whilst many things seem glaringly obvious for us, for her they are not. During the days when there is never more than a break of a few seconds between questions I try to remind myself of this and think about having a little bit more patience. Not easy when you are exhausted and have literally not even gotten your key out of the front door to be hit with a question! But I will try! I'll just pull my superwoman knickers up over my belly button and prepare my ears for what is to come!

Sausages and chips please mother!

This post was written in conjunction with Special Saturday which aims to promote awareness of special needs. You can find Special Saturday on Facebook HERE. Follow us on Twitter too @specialsat and use the hashtag #specialsaturday to link up.

The theme this week is food - eating - feeding. For those children with special needs, everything associated with food and feeding can be hugely problematic. For us, FD just simply doesn't like to eat. That is of course unless its sausages and chips with copious amounts of tomato ketchup. I know I've probably blogged about FD's eating difficulties before but I'm just going to bore you all to death once more all in the name of Special Saturday which I love!

FD's eating difficulties are quite varied. When she was quite a young child in primary school I noticed that she became quite upset when sent to school dinners because the mashed potato in school was a slightly different colour than mine. To me, mashed potato is mashed potato. It all looks the flaming same to me! But to my wonderful daughter it didn't! It was a different shade of mash! It was a different taste! It was a different texture! Things like this hurt my head trying to think about it. I just had to accept that food eaten outside of the house often upset or confused her because it was just not the same as the food she ate inside the house.

Another difficulty we encountered was that if FD was to have school dinners then we had to ensure that she knew exactly what food she was having for her evening meal at home. She was terrified she might be given the same meal twice in one day! Despite reassurances that this would not happen she needed a visual aid to help her understand this. So, we put together a weekly menu board for her so that she knew what food was coming on a daily basis. Unfortunately, having school dinners created so much anxiety and was problematic that it soon became easier just to let FD take a packed lunch to school.

FD's eating difficulties do spiral out of control at times and every day is a struggle for us to get her to eat anything. She will have days were food related meltdowns are the norm for the day. She doesn't want to eat. She doesn't feel hungry.  Its difficult not to make such a big issue out of the whole thing because to say I am worried about how little she eats is an understatement! We have a dietitian who has tried to tempt FD with specialist milk shakes called Skandie Shakes which are basically fortified meal replacement milkshakes so that if FD skips a meal then she is still getting her nourishment from somewhere. But, will she drink the sodding things? Will she heck! So, we got creative and made up the shakes and put them in a McDonalds cup. This child is not stupid I can tell you. She spotted the difference instantly! So, now she won't take them! Arghhhhhhhhhhh!

Of course, in the wonderful world of special needs nothing is ever completely straightforward and  uncomplicated. For just as FD would prefer to go through an entire day not eating, when it comes to her evening meal she eats like a woman possessed and has to be told to stop before she is sick. She eats huge evening meals and drinks about a pint of milk! It seems she would just be happy to survive on one meal a day which I suppose she is. She's a skinny child and at times her thin arms look like they could snap in half!

No doubt the food issues will always be present for FD. They may evolve over time into something completely different but I am pretty sure they will always be prevalent. I don't think its something that will disappear overnight. I wish it would! Poor skinny FD is going to need her knicker elastic tightened on her Superwoman knickers because of her tiny waist at this rate!