Restaurant in Eindhoven

Walking around Eindoven, Elyza fell asleep in the stroller. So, we decided to seize this opportunity to say at a café and have a nice lunch. We sat down, ordered, had some drinks waiting for the food to come. Then the food came, and we had 2 max 3 bites, and Elyza woke up wailing.

This was not the first time that had happened to us, 2 out of 3 times we would be out for food, Elyza would shout in the restaurant. She would suddenly just cry and shout. It was not a regular two year old crying. It was different. A different tone, a different pitcher. A different volume, a different feeling. It was a cry of pain, a cry of her being totally lost, completely unable to settle herself down. We would pick her up, feedback her, change her, rock her, walk with her, push her in her stroller, sing for her, distract her, give her toys, ... nothing would work. It would always last a minimum of 15 minutes, an average of 20 minutes, a maximum of 30 minutes.

It is only after knowing about sensory processing challenges and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that we were able to understand what it was and why it would happen, and understand how to avoid and how to respond to a meltdown. Because of this recurring situation, we changed our culture discovery namely culinary journey approach. And with the diagnosis and understanding, we altered our choices and reactions. We adapted.

We also adapted by being open to the option of not being able to sit down and eat it. Either we would take turn to eat, meaning not enjoying a meal together, or we would ask for take away.