Limited use of hands - Cerebral Palsy Message Board

sobannon · 07-31-2007, 08:49 PM

I have an 18 month old son who was diagnosed with CP in March. He is not crawling or walking or independently pulling up. We have him in EI and are in the process of starting aggressive PT/OT. We do know that he has right sided weakness, but is certainly not flaccid.

Here is my question. He refuses to self feed. He will pick up toys and will hold a bottle/sippy cup, but absolutely refuses to self feed, ANYTHING. It is so frustrating at times, b/c we are working so hard to get him as functional as possible. Any suggestions on how to get him interested? Has anyone else dealt with this problem? Is this normal for kids with CP? I am so new to all of this, I feel like an idiot.

I appreciate any help that you can provide.

Amy

KarimsMUM · 08-01-2007, 08:24 PM

He may not want to do it because self feeding is very tricky, you have to keep the spoon just so to stop the food running off. You may want to try him with a spoon that is deep and with a rubber handle. As for food try maybe starting with something like mashed potato as once it is on the spoon is likely to stay on till it enters his mouth...even if he waves it around in the air as 18 month olds are want to do!!! Any food that has a very thick consistency like mashed potato or porridge oor mashed pumpkin will be the easiest to start on, then as his confidence grows he may want to try other things.
I found introducing the spoon first then later on the fork. ( at 3 1/2 we are still developing the fork technique, he holds it as he would a stick)
Don't get too caught up in milestones. When your child is diagnosed with cp you have to throw all those out the window!!!
And don't feel like an idiot!! I didn't even know what cp was until my son had the diagnosis. 2 years on and I am still learning things.

Mary'sMom · 08-01-2007, 08:52 PM

Hi Amy,

You know your son best, is it possible this is just an issue with him being stubborn? My 3 year old daughter is still not independent on feeding and has some vision issues compounding her CP, but I'm sure part of it with her is that it's much easier to have Mommy feed her while she's spending her energy doing something else. She can take a loaded spoon or fork and put it in her mouth, but she's not good at loading them up. I think it's a hand eye coordination thing that she'd rather not work on right now (she's more focused on learning to walk at the moment).

It may be with the aggressive PT/OT, your son is trying to exert a little control by not cooperating with self-feeding. I don't remember the time tables, but from my observations, 18 months is a little early to be getting a child to reliably self feed with utensils anyway.

At any rate, take things one step at a time. First, work on getting him to play with the utensils without any food or pressure to use them that way - give him his own set as you sit down to feed him. Then, when he's comfortable playing with them, try guiding his hand while he's holding them. Or, pre-load the spoon with yogurt or something sticky and just help him get it from the plate to his mouth. Lots of praise and encouragement will help.

Oh, and let him watch you when you eat. Carry him around with you when you're snacking on something, so he hears you chewing and watches you put the food in your mouth. Talk about what motions you're making with the utensils. I know it sounds silly, but there are some things I think kids would never want to learn unless they saw us doing them. Good luck, and be patient, your little man will figure it out soon enough.

sobannon · 08-02-2007, 06:45 AM

Stubborn? My son? No way!!!

Dalton also has vision issues compounding his CP and I think that has alot to do with it as well.

We eat together, him and I. I take a bite, then encourage him to take a bite. I haven't even tried with a spoon for him to hold as it is an issue to even get him to hold a cookie or something hard. I have given him a cupcake to make a complete mess with, NOTHING. I try to encourage him to play with utensils, but he is in this, drop everything on the floor phase.

He is a WONDERFUL eater and I would hate to do anything to change that. I have yet to find a food that he will not eat.

I thank you for the words of advice and encouragement, it really means alot, even if you don't feel like you gave me much advice. Like I said, I am so new to this. And I got over the milestone issue a long time ago. I know he has his own agenda and timeline. He just likes to eat so much, that I am confused as to why he won't do that one thing on his own, whether it be his own choice or not.

Amy

rounsy222 · 08-02-2007, 01:23 PM

Hello amy,
How are things? Sorry to hear about your sons CP but im sure your strength will get you through the tough times.

Meg