Level 2 Shame, and Back to Baseline Meals

Ben is just not a morning person when it comes to eating. The first meal is historically bad, and today was no different. He blazed through the yogurt at breakneck speed, but hit the wall on the peaches. He required a couple of hand-over-hands, and too many reminders to take a bite. Down came the sad faces from his chart of visual clues, and down came the super-duper Level 3 Badge. Ben became a Level 2. Oh the shame! He was so upset. After the meal, he whispered in a sorrowful voice that he did not want to wear the Level 2 badge. As part of Level 2, he had to sit in the hall with me and play with a bag of not-so-exciting toys, and sit with his not-so-exciting mom. I read a couple articles from the Ensign, and then turned to the first Percy Jackson book. (I know it is a kids' book, but I wanted to know what all the hype was about) I was not supposed to interact much with him, and I didn't. When he realized that I was no fun, and that he couldn't play with his little buddy in the playroom, he was in tears. Let me assure you that lunch went a whole lot better. I knew he would learn quickly. I just love consequences.

For dinner, we went back to baseline. This simply means that the experts want to know if the improvements he has made with speed and independence are because of their treatment, or because of some other reason like being in a new environment, or not having a bunch of siblings causing distractions. They like to have atleast 3 consistent sets of data. It all comes down to data. When his behavioral psych explained this, I had to chuckle as she walked away. I really wanted to wish her a good time analyzing data. After the 3 meals, we will go back to some type of protocol, and I think they will start adding new foods, and new expectations. I'm so ready for that, as I am entering my fourth week here. Let's get the show on the road!