Have you ever been so hungry it makes you angry? I have. It happens to me all the time. I stop what I am doing, get myself something to eat and then the problem is solved. This seems like a very easy problem to solve, but for someone who has a communication issue, this may be very difficult to do.
When Logan was little we avoided restaurants. I hated going out to eat because there was always a tantrum, we could hardly eat and it was all around just a terrible experience. I can’t tell you how many times I left a restaurant before our food was brought to the table. Once I realized how painful it was for all of us, we just stopped going out. This was hard for me since when Kyra was little she would sit for hours in a restaurant and was so well behaved. I couldn’t understand why Logan was behaving so badly. In my very naive eyes, he was just bad.
One day it just clicked. I started to realize that he was acting out because he was hungry. So hungry that he became angry. I guess you can say he was hangry. So I changed my behavior to help Logan learn to eat in restaurants. I started with pizzerias. I would call ahead, order a pizza for the dining room. It worked. We walked in, ordered drinks and then the pizza came. We continued only going to this type of restaurant for a while. After that we moved on to going to Friendly’s. We would walk in, get seated and I would immediately order Logan’s meal. He would be able to eat while we ordered and then be able to sit for a little longer each time. We did go for walks, a lot. Occasionally we still had to leave restaurants, but for the most part we made progress each time we went out to eat. Some restaurants are more difficult than others. Fancy restaurants seemed to give us the biggest issue. According to Logan, “the Outback” (Outback Steakhouse) is a fancy restaurant. In addition, loud restaurants were difficult to sit in.
Logan has adapted so well over the years. Recently, we were driving around to pick up packages at a bunch of stores and he said, “Hey Mom, I am hungry. How about we get some Red Robin?” This was actually a surprise to me. Of course I said yes. As we walked in he said, “Man, I really miss restaurants.” Who knew the little boy who would throw a fit every time we entered a restaurant would grow up to be a young man who misses going out to eat during a pandemic?
Patience was the key to our success. I would suggest bringing your child’s favorite snacks and other items to keep them busy while out. In addition, don’t expect anything to change overnight. Someone once told me, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Live, Laugh, Logan 