Nick gets spoon fed pureed food. I still use a toddler spoon because his mouth is so small. When he’s done eating, he drinks his filtered water in his little water bottle with a sippy cover (use the no spill valve in the cover).

Nick needs to wear a bib. I also put a weighted pad over his hands and forearms, under the bib. You’ll find bibs in the cabinet in the kitchen, on the living room wall. The weighted pad is on the radiator in the kitchen. It’s black.

Weighted Pad
This is how the weighted pad goes over Nick’s hands and forearms.

Nick’s bib gets fastened by snaps. You need to ‘tie’ the end once before snapping it or it will be too big. Tie it, don’t knot it.

Nick listens to music, wearing headphones when he eats. He will yell until you put them on. Play very calming music on his iPod. He has a subscription to Spotify with several playlists. He may still be a bit loud. If he’s yelling, lift his headphones off an ear a little bit and tell him “quiet please”. Don’t give him a bite of food until he’s not yelling open-mouthed. You’ll find his headphones hanging on his wheelchair. His ipod can be in various places.

Try not to feed him too fast. Follow his lead. When the food is gone, tip one side of his headphones up a little and tell him that it’s all gone, he ate it all. Ask him if he wants his water. He understands.

Take the weighted pad off of his arms and put it back on the radiator while he’s drinking.

You’ll want to wipe his bib down while he’s drinking. He takes his headphones off and drops them in the food on his bib. If he’s taking his headphones off before the water is gone, he may want them off and want music in his bluetooth speaker. It should be on the back of the stove. If it’s not there, it should be in his room.

Here’s a page on where to find stuff.