{"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":"
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 <\/p>\n <\/p>\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 <\/p>\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 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>\nReason to Work on Dining Out as a Life Skill:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
TIPS FOR DINING OUT WITH YOUR CHILD WITH AUTISM:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Start Small – Fast Food Restaurants:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Chain Restaurants:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
Watch Videos Before You Go:<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n