{"id":5951,"date":"2019-02-05T19:56:20","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T00:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amothersrandomthoughts.com\/?p=5951"},"modified":"2019-10-19T10:39:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-19T14:39:32","slug":"tips-for-dining-out-with-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amothersrandomthoughts.com\/tips-for-dining-out-with-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Dining Out with Autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tips for Dining Out with Autism<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

When you have a child with any type of disability there are things many people avoid. Malls, restaurants, birthday parties. But because our son with autism was child number five, and we had teenagers, we continued to do some of the difficult things because we were trying very hard to be a family. Now don’t get me wrong. There are things that we didn’t do. I stopped going to softball and soccer games because Jack-Jack would run on the field or take off toward the parking lot. However, we continued to go on many outings<\/a>\u00a0and we continued to dine out. Today I am giving you some dining out with autism tips to successfully eat out with a child on the spectrum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dining out opens up a world of opportunities. Jack-Jack is now 14 and rarely do we have problems in restaurants. But that wasn’t always the case. Dining out is so important because it helps to teach many life skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Preparing<\/p>\n

Reason to Work on Dining Out as a Life Skill:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Freedom: You are going to get invited to places. You do not want to feel like a prisoner trapped at home. I know too many families that rarely go out because it is hard. Eating out happens frequently – birthday parties, weddings, travel and more are all possible when you have worked hard to help your child eat in public.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. New Opportunities: Dining out opens up a whole new world. Travel becomes possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Trying new foods: Jack-Jack never would have tried crab legs, crawfish or calamari because I would not have made them at home. But when you go out to eat, it becomes possible to try new foods and expand the range of foods your child eats.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Making Choices: Ordering from a menu and making selections helps your child to learn how to make choices.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Patience: Sitting until dinner is over. At home, it becomes to easy to get up and walk around or stand while eating. At a restaurant, you learn to sit.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Respect for Others: Learning to respect other people. Your child sees strangers next to them and sees how other people eat and interact.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Communication Skills: Interaction with the waitress\/waiter help communication skills. Even if you order for your child, they witness the communication that happens and over time will learn that there is a familiar pattern to eating out (wait to be seated, read the menu, order food, wait for food, eat food, get the check, pay the check, dinner out is done).<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Travel: Unless you want to eat at fast food restaurants or make all your meals while you travel, you will want to work on dining out before you undertake a trip. I believe autism travel is so important<\/a> to our children’s development. It is tiresome, but the benefits far outweigh the hardship.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Eating<\/p>\n

    TIPS FOR DINING OUT WITH YOUR CHILD WITH AUTISM:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

    Start Small – Fast Food Restaurants:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

    If You have never gone out to eat Start with fast-food restaurants. If you have never even gone to a fast-food establishment, begin there or start with a local coffee or donut shop. Other ideas for starting out are an ice cream shop with seating, a hot dog shop, a neighborhood diner or pizza restaurant.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Coffee<\/p>\n

    Chain Restaurants:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

    We would often eat at a chain restaurant when Jack-Jack was little because 1) There was less chance of knowing people, and 2) The restaurant was larger and our noise would blend in with everyone else.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Watch Videos Before You Go:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

    Watch Social Stories or Videos Online. While social stories are helpful, they do not give the child the same sensory feelings that\u00a0<\/span>actually occur while eating out. But I still feel they are helpful in preparing a child for the overall experience.<\/span><\/p>\n