A light at the end of the tunnel.

Today I met with some therapists who evaluated Amos and his eating to see if he would qualify for more in-home therapy.
Amos' eating habits have grown increasingly frustrating:
He gets bored easily and doesn't want to sit and eat all of his food (he's too smart for his own good!). So he regularly gags and sometimes throws up if we offer him something and he doesn't want to eat it. And, it's not gross food. It's things he loves: pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. He also has trouble with textures--he doesn't eat other commonly kid-friendly foods like mac & cheese, mashed potatoes or yogurt and fruit. Those things make him gag, too. As you can imagine, we sort of give in when he gags, to avoid throwing up! (Who wouldn't?).
Today the therapists got to see him in action, amazed at the things he was saying and the concepts he had grasped and was communicating. Things like toys being too big for a cup, having the same toys as the therapists, etc. I can't really remember all that was said or done, but I do know that they were continuously impressed!
So, back to eating issues--midway through the meeting, I offered Amos some string cheese and he gagged in response. I noted this to the therapists, that this is what he commonly does. On of them, Jane, said with great confidence, "That is absolutely behavioral," meaning that Amos, on a conscious or unconscious level, did not want to eat and therefore made himself gag. This was great news to my ears! All of my theories of "maybe his throat was injured from so many breathing tubes..." or "maybe he has a developmental issue because he's a preemie..." went out the window and she began to give me concrete steps to help Amos nip that behavior in the bud. We turned off Thomas the Tank Engine and she told him he'd have to eat his cheese before we would turn it back on. Eventually he did and was so happy when he got to watch TV again as we finished our meeting. She said that as much as she hated to use rewards, especially TV, that now would be a good time to use them as we try to get him eating better.
After they left, it was lunch time. So I said to him plainly, "it's lunch time. You are having a grilled cheese sandwich. If you eat it all, you get to have an animal cracker." When I sat him down, he looked at his plate and gagged. I told him no and to take a bite. He gagged again. I said it a third time and then he threw up. I told him that was not ok, took off his clothes and offered a fresh square of sandwich. It took awhile, but he finally ate the square all gone, without any further gagging and then got to enjoy the animal cracker reward.
After nap, again, he was asked to drink his smoothie all gone before he could go outside and play. He finally did and it was enough of a snack to tide him over to dinner. At dinner time, I again gave him his plate, with two animal crackers sitting in front of him, just out of reach, letting him know what he could have as a reward. He devoured his piece of pizza, plus three pieces of baguette bread. We were elated!! I didn't have to fight with him once over taking bites or eating. I just said, "if you eat it all, you get animal crackers!"
Needless to say, this has been a triumphant day, getting help in an area that has become such a problem for us. Hopefully, with more help and therapy and better eating, Amos will gain more weight and will grow a bit faster! I know that he has it in him to be a bean pole his whole life, but it's great to know that we can get help for things like this that don't quite feel right and hopefully, can help him now instead of later!