My son is 3 1/2. He doesn't have a diagnosis of autism yet but all the signs are there and when we see the developmental pediatrician in a few weeks, that's what we're expecting. He's been receiving Speech and OT since he was 2. Lately his tactile defensiveness has gotten *much* worse. We're actually not sure what the cause is except that there have been some significant changes in his life recently (we abruptly changed both of his therapists and started him in preschool).
At any rate, when he was younger he had a great diet. As he got older it became more and more limited but was still okay for a toddler. Now his already restricted diet is getting worse and worse. For a while he would eat rice, mashed potatoes, pound cake, apples, cookies (yeah...sweets), icecream, bread, cheese sandwhiches, plain bread, plain pasta and corn (on the cob only)...and fruit roll ups.

Now we're down to pound cake and fruit roll ups. Sometimes he eats rice or pasta but he mostly refuses them. He drinks soy milk mixed with pediasure and sometimes orange juice.

His OT's approach is to basically choose a food he doesn't eat (randomly pretty much) and hold him down and force him to take a bite. It takes about 30 minutes to get about three *small* bites in. He screams the whole time. We've been doing this for a few weeks and the results are....well...not there. If anything it's even worse. We're at a complete loss. He's *never* been this bad before. :confused:

Is her method out of whack? Should we try to see a dietician (assuming we can find one who works with children)? Should we try to go back to our old approach, which was to let him 'graze' (ie...we put out several things and let him choose what he would eat and when. He didn't sit with us at meal times.) Should we stick it out? Is there another option? What has worked for everyone else with similar issues?

We are freaking out here...help please!

I feel your anxiety as my son doesn't eat well either. My sons OT tried the hold him down approach also and I swear I will NEVER tolerate that again. What ever the problem is that is causing the food aversion is not going to be solved by holding him down until he eats a designated amount. I think that method will only back fire. I want my son to be happy about eating and not frightened at the thought of sitting down at meal time. My only suggestion is the soft approach and keep giving him the same foods on his plate. Let him tolerate looking at them while they are on a dish with something he will eat. It's alot of work, but hang in there. Don't let anyone push your son to the point of complete food refusal. I have been looking on ebay at different books that talk about food issues and how to try and change things. I haven't gotten one yet, but I look under autism books and see what's there. I know of one book that caught my interest called Can't Eat, Won't Eat. Try your best and remember he won't starve because he won't let himself. Keep a food diary also, that way you can measure exactly what he is eating and how much or little. Good Luck

I have some of the same issues with my 3 1/2 year old. He used to eat well now he is down to very little. He eats sweats, toast, chicken nuggets, ham, crackers, cereal, waffles, pandcakes, yogurt, apple sauce, gummie bears, hot dogs, chips and some other foods. Sounds like a lot of food, but not one veggie. Not one. He doesn't care for dairy and I don't push that. I would love to see him eat green beans. That would make my year. I happen to love every veggie out there and find it hard to understand how someone couldn't like any. Thought I would never force him to eat and my OT has told me not to force him. She said if you want him to eat green beans, put them on his plate each mealtime. Keep doing it over and over. I haven't done that yet but I should try that. I remember both my other children doing the same thing and they were not autistic. So maybe sometimes we are assuming it's the Autism doing it. Maybe it's just because they are toddlers. I don't know. I have often thought about taking away the chicken nuggets and not giving them to him. He may not strave himself but he will want something else like cereal all the time. You on the other hand seem to have more of an advantage. If he is only eating two types of food, maybe give him a tiny bit of pound cake with each meal. After a few days he may start to eat the other food on his plate. My OT always said make sure at least one food is on his plate that he likes, just not a lot of it. I've even given him peanut butter on a spood since he doesn't like soft bread or on an icecream cone. He liked it. As his body changes his body may desire new foods. Hang in there, we are all with you on this.
Michelle

its actually quite common for young kids to have limited diets. my nephew went through a phase where he would only eat bologna and cheese. thats it. my niece went through a bread and butter phase. my daughter (autistic) just got over an egg & cheese sandwich phase. for MONTHS, all she would eat was egg & cheese sandwiches for every meal.

i wouldnt worry about it too much at this point. if it goes on for a very long period of time (1+ years) then something may have to be done. but i certainly wouldnt force a child to eat something different. holding them down and forcing food into their mouth? that sounds awfully cruel to me. that child will only grow to hate mealtimes or trying new foods.

although i know my daughter is picky and i know what foods she does/doesnt like, i always give her a little bit of whatever it is that i'm eating. she usually doesnt touch it, but it gives her the opportunity to at least try it if she wants, and she gets used to different foods being on her plate. this is how i got her to discover that she LOVES cottage cheese!

I agree that there's a definite tendancy to automatically assume it's the autism or sensory integration that's doing it. I *do* believe that some of it is behavioral. As it became harder to get him to eat, we reinforced his bad eating habits by giving in too much. Now we're at a point where we don't know what to do at all.

He is definitely a stubborn little one. I have *no* idea where he got that :p (It's not as if everyone on *every* side of the family isn't stubborn) so I have my doubts that just exposing him to new foods will work. But then, he has a tendancy to surprise us by wanting to try things we're eating just because we're *not* making a big deal of the issue (we almost had a celebration when we got him to *lick* an apricot). At the same time, sometimes if we make a big deal of him eating something we know he likes (even praising him or taking any notice at all) then he may stop.

I have noticed that *no* one is on board with the holding him down and forcing him technique even though our OT insists that it has worked for all the other children she's used it on. I do believe we're going to have a talk about it. I think it's great for her to do oral stimulation with him because he generally likes having a brush swishing around in his mouth (and yet won't let me do it) but he's gotten to where he's terrified of her because of the food thing. I think I'll just tell her to leave the food thing to me.

Thank you so much for your advice--I can't tell you how encouraged I feel. (Anyone else who wants to leave advice...I'd love to hear it. I have the feeling I have a long, frustrating road ahead with only a few victories. I'm going to need all the help I can get.)

~Lisa

Although my boy never really limited his food intake, he was prone to eating just the cr*ppy foods and nothing nutritious. Really all started many moons ago when he had bad ear infections that were just not going away - this resulted in biting and headbanging. Ok now I HAVE to do something about this! My solution veggie juicing - I juice mostly carrots, green stuff(kale,lettuce etc), beets and sometimes garlic(excellent if they are sick as it is a natural antibiotic). Of course you can be more creative and use anything that will give you juice.
Yes I know .... you've made the juice ...now how do you get it in him/her?
I started with just one of those medicine droppers, cornered him(not force) and squirted in his mouth. Naturally the first few times may not go so well and it will be spat out or dribble down the shirt, however the point is for them to get used to/accept other foods. Juicing is great on so many levels, not only for them to accept a variety of foods, but for health, these nutrients a already broken down for their little bodies therefore easier for them to absorb.
The only other sups I was giving him at the time were the SuperNuThera and the DMG - Result: no more ear infections(ever!), readily accepts other foods(yes he still prefers junk food, what kid doesn't), will swallow all sups on his own, up to a full glass of veggie juice(I do it 2x/wk), he "asks" for it by bringing me the carrots(at least once a week).

Note: DAN doc asked me if my boy liked carrots cause his beta carotene was the highest she had ever seen for an autistic child. She didn't know I veggie juiced. ;)

my daughter had an excellent diet, then 18 months ago when she had her mmr everything changed, her diet now consists of tinned spaggetti hoops, tomato soup, bread and butter, cake, porrige, pancakes, yogurt, tinned pear, apple, banana, muffins(bread), quavers, chocolate, biscuits and cereal bars. basically mostly crap! i generally think that with age and the childs understanding, things do get better. i've given up on trying her with new things, i sometimes put a tiny amount on her plate and ask her to try, she puts it to her mouth and then says "finish", i did once force corned beef down her every meal (about the amount of a pea), the screaming i was met with every mealtime just reinforced that what i was doing was wrong, it lasted about a week and i gathered that it shouldn't be this difficult, so i stopped. most children on the spectrum have eating problems, most children on the spectrum eat bland boring foods, my daughters preference is bland, sloppy and boring. some parents use the aba approach, this can be costly. i know you're worried about your sons eating, look at it this way, it couldn't get any worse! my daughter has eaten the rubbish listed for 18 months, shes a skinny little thing, but hopefully as she gets older her understanding will grow and she'll try more. oh... and lastly break the food trying down, put a pea on his plate, play with it, get him to squish it, make it fun, then get him to put it to his lips, then to lick it, then into his mouth(don't let him swallow it!), then chew it, then swallow it! a very lengthy process, but its worth it, allow one step every three to four days, i read this technique in a book about children with autism, its worth a try, and sometimes they just try new foods when they are ready, hope i've been some help, good luck.

Hi
Same problem with twin 3.4 year old boys. (autistic of course) I would NEVER hold either down to make them eat something...............although I have tricked small tastes into Peter's mouth so he might realize he likes it. Sometimes that works................for 2 months he ate NOTHING BUT pizza, for breakfast lunch and dinner......so I started smashing my own tomatoes, a tiny bit of carrots, peas and such and used that in combination with whatever pizza sauce was on it. That worked too.

If you boy likes something, try adding the smallest amount of a new ingredient. For ex. Peter liked cheese sandwiches and plain cheese too but only the processed kind. ANyway, I slowly started to add turkey to his sandwhich and now he will eat turkey and cheese.

They also say to include 3 to 4 different choices for the child to chose from. Two you know he will like (or at least one) and you might be able to bargain with him: "If you take one bite of your sandwich, then you can have a spoon of pudding"

One last thing..........Peter LOVEs yogurt and pudding but MUST use his hands and fingers to eat them or he wont. So let him experiment with different textures.........he now eats beans in a tortilla w/cheese and the yogurt is all over his hair but if I get upset over that, the yogurt that IS making it to his mouth will not.

Hope I've been helpful!
Joan
PS After Peter feeds himself, he goes directly to the tub which he loves anyway~