oh Maz - Hope Wilhelm has settled down for you! I always wait with baited breath when Xander wants to do something like that - it usually ends in tears but at least he is trying something new. It's like when we go to the movies, that boy is soooo determined to go to the movies no matter how uncomfortbale he finds it, which is good I guess as it shows with the right motivation he can overcome difficulties. Last time we went we took: his vibrating pillow, his weighted blanket, milk (we are normally on soy but I find dairy numbs him and we use it on bad days) and he was quite comfortable. So many times we have had to leave half way through - PS did you know that if you leave within the first 15-20 min you get your money back? I always let the ticket person know we have Aspergers and we might be back out again, they are very understanding.

Diet - we are failsafe like Christy (check out fed up dot come dot au) but haven't done the full elimination diet we have got rid of as much preservatives, colours, flavours and natural chemicals as possible and Xander and Ari are both on soy (vanilla flavoured soygood) Xander loves it and ari has half cows/half soy on the rare occasions she has a sippy of milk. Believe it or not Xander eats better failsafe then regular as the food is quite bland. Mainly potatoes, leek, sweede, cabbage, pears, peeled red del apples, kettle chips, arnotts biscuits, magic cordial (sugar syrup with citric acid). And then we buy fresh meat and sausages from the butcher. We make our own mini pies which xander likes as I process everything together, mince, cabbage, rice, leek, sweede, brussle sprouts and becuase it is all processed down there are no lumps. We have problems with suaces and food that is mixed (stir fry, spagetti bolog, casseroles are a no go) but he will eat just about everything in the failsafe cook book. We are having trouble with finding a muslei bar receipe as he doesn't like things that are crunchy. Xander got to the point where he was soo skinny I thought he had dislocated his shoulder but it was just his shoulder blade sticking out! Xander is a slow eater and he forgets to eat quite often, rarely asks for food or drink so we have to offer food all the time so he will put on weight.

Raven - beautiful! Don't you love those little milestones! I remember the first time Xander drew a person with a face, arms and legs! Or used more than one colour without prompting!