A Woman's Work – Brooke Basically Blogging

If you have been following our autism journey. Then you have heard many stories about Sydney and her love for ribeye steak. Two things were a motivator for Sydney when she was younger and nonverbal. One was food and the other was Disney Princesses.

There were some therapists that used food as a motivator for Syd. They would give her 1/4 of a fruit snack when she complied. I never knew what Sydney liked to eat. She would try different foods. Some textures she did not like. Sydney will still smell her food today. Before she eats it.

When she first started saying words again at age 5. I would give her a choice menu for each meal. She would select the pictures that she wanted for that meal. Then I would reinforce the pictures with words for her.

Years later she discovered this love for ribeye steak. I think we were all at a family cookout. When she tasted the ribeye and I told her what it was. She repeated “ribeye steak” and did the sign language symbol for more.

The most memorable moment was going to a steak house for my birthday. I was a nervous wreck. When the waitress came over she took our order. Sydney said “I want a ribeye steak please.” That was the best birthday gift ever.

When Sydney would eat a ribeye. It was a conversation starter. She would work on her fine motor skills and she improved using a fork and a knife.

I would try to trick her and buy whatever steak that was on sale. She would smell it and say. “That’s not ribeye.” On her 12th birthday. This was her exact order, with no prompting from us. I would like a ribeye steak, bone in, little pink, and sautéed mushrooms and broccoli with potatoes no brown(no gravy) and lemonade please.

That day I only ordered an appetizer. After the ribeye queen placed her order. I had to make sure they wouldn’t have us in the back washing dishes because we couldn’t pay the bill. 😉

 

The history of the ribeye. Something so simple, yet so powerful for Syd.