Mmmmm . . .

Thursdays are pizza day around our house. Matt really looks forward to his Little Caesar’s, so much so that most of time he opens the hot box and snatches out a slice on the ride home. This past week he did just that and while chewing on that first bite, added some yummy sounds, “Mmmmmm”. It was great to hear the sounds of pure pleasure emanating from the back seat.

I can’t tell you when he first started doing that – making yummy sounds – but he was a very small boy, probably 3-4 years old. Matt would almost hum during each meal; take a bite – chew – hum - swallow, take another bite – chew – hum - swallow. We always knew when he approved of the menu.

One of the signs of autism is being a very picky eater. Matt would rather starve to death then put something in his mouth he was unsure of. It seems as though it took forever for him to just try pizza, or try a hamburger. I packed Matt’s lunch for school on days I knew the menu lacked any items he would touch. If there were at least one item on the menu, then I wanted him to buy his lunch, hoping he would be hungry enough to try something else on the plate. Much to my surprise, this actually worked. One day the note from Matt’s aide simply stated “Matt ate a hamburger today!” and from that day on he ate hamburgers – ketchup only – from any restaurant we took him to. His food list started out small – just 5 and is now up to about 12-14 (which is amazing!). He will even try a new item on occasion if it smells OK. For example, we once bought a layer cake with white frosting, something we know Matt likes, only to find out that it wasn’t a white cake – it was yellow (gasp!). Matt took one look at it and frowned in disapproval. “It’s pretty good, Matt, you should taste it . . .” I suggested. To my surprise he did and agreed to have a small piece – a very small piece. He ate that one piece of cake, but only that one. He wouldn’t touch another slice of that same strange-looking, yellow cake. One odd colored piece was all he could stand.

Matt eats finger-foods. He love’s hotdogs, hamburgers and pizza - the “All-American” menu. Matt will take his hamburger and balance it on the tips of his fingers, as if to put it on a pedestal. Maybe he does this so he can admire the shape or see all sides by simply rotating the wrist. Regardless of why he does it, the sheer dexterity to even eat a burger this way always astounds me. He will eat some vegetables; peas, corn, broccoli (yes, can you believe it – broccoli?) and potatoes – but only if they are French fries. As for fruit? Grapes – that’s it. He likes cookies – but only Oreo’s and chocolate chip (not home made) and other sweets – like cupcakes, and cake- but only white or chocolate – and don’t go trying to sneak in some coconut frosting – yuk!

Each meal is pretty similar to the last meal. We jumble-up the combination sometimes, but let’s face it, they are all about the same. When he was little each meal brought delight and Mmmmm. As he grew older the sounds of “yum!” grew fewer and further apart. It’s been quite a while since we heard the sounds of pure bliss at dinner time. Then last Thursday we heard the familiar sounds as we drove home. Matt was leaning back, his eyes closed and a half-eaten slice of pizza perched precariously on his fingertips. “Mmmmmmm” the sound softly rising out of him as he chewed. His lips smacked loudly. He took another bite and again he hummed.

And all was right with the world.