One of the hardest, most frustrating challenges my wife and I face on a daily basis, is struggling to feed our kids. The struggle is probably not for the reasons you think either. It’s not because we don’t have food or have a hard time getting food. Working from home hasn’t always been easy but it’s finally beginning to pay off and we have been paying for 99% of our groceries out of pocket for awhile now.

That’s something that feels amazing but it doesn’t make feeding our kids any easier.

Trying to feed two of our three kids with major sensory processing issues has proven to be one of the most challenging things about being an Autism parent to three kids on the spectrum.

My two youngest have such a hard time with food that they will simply go hungry, rather than eat something they find offensive.

We will hit small strides where we can find something that they will eat more than once. It feels like hitting a grand slam homerun but it never lasts because if even the slightest issue arises with whatever they’re eating, they will write it off forever.

Tonight I found myself wandering the Walgreens, trying to find something for my youngest to eat in his school lunch. It’s Friday, so we only have to make it through today but it’s not easy and the stress is unbelievably heavy.

I ended up finding some beef jerky that he’s been known to eat and while it’s not ideal, it’s protein and calories.

Last night I was finally able to get him to drink a slim fast shake. I made it with the chocolate powder, ice and whole milk. He drank most of it and I felt a little better knowing he took that in.

Many years ago, when I was planning my family out in my head, this kind of challenge never even occurred to me. I would have never been able to imagine what this is like or how hard it is to do this, every single meal of every single day.

It’s definitely given me perspective and tested my patience at the same time.

I hope someday to work though this but unfortunately, it seems to get worse with age, rather than better.