Turns out that bringing "materials" when we go out and having them available all around the house is a really good thing for Leelo. During our usual Saturday breakfast at the cafe, instead of constantly asking for straws or croissant, he strung beads, laced cards, and did concentration-style matching games. He still ate a lot, but not as much, and not at such a panicky rate.
He is still having a rough time, though, behaviorally. He woke up at 6 AM with what must have been a hell of a headache, because when I walked to his bed to greet him and say "good morning," he reached up, started smacking me and then his head, and ripped off my necklace (I really will have to give up wearing necklaces for now as that's the third one in six months). He calmed down eventually but I am going to take him to the doctor tomorrow to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection.
Also, as Seymour pointed out, Leelo's increasing girth means that he is just too wide for even the size 10 - 12 underwear we've stocked for him. If he has inherited my clothing sensitivities (any binding or pinching means headaches and nausea) and has a headache as well, then he must be really miserable.
And, again, some of it is just behavioral, as in when he punches me and then prompts me, "No hitting!" Or yesterday, when we arrived to pick up Izzy from her girl scout meeting and she wasn't ready and we had to take a walk around the block and then Izzy still wasn't ready. I told Leelo that we couldn't get "in the van" just yet. He looked me right in the eye, and then calmly and deliberately raked his nails down my forearm.
It's the usual good and bad around here. I'll end with some good:
One more reason why I love Leelo's school: On Thursday night, Supervisor M sent a letter to Leelo's teacher, asking if we could get home-use copies of eight picture/word icons that Leelo uses in class. Four copies of each (painstakingly printed, copied, cut out, and glued to cards) came home in Leelo's backpack Friday afternoon. Sometimes I am just dumbfounded by the supportiveness of his class staff.
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