eating with utensils | Autism PDD

Kelli

This is what i do with Zach... He is going to be 3 next month.... I have the fork available for him to use if He wants to... but I don't force it.... let me explain something here though *laughs* Zach has a SEVERE adversion to utensils.... he will SOMETIMES.... and I mean once in a blue moon let me put a fork/spoon in his mouth.  Zach does not know how to use a spoon at all.... This has to do with coordination, cause it's the same issue with the toothbrush... He can't figure out how to get it to his mouth.  With the fork this is what he does when he uses it... stabs the food and then pulls it off with his fingers *laughs*  I would agree with not FORCING him by refusing to feed him... eventually it might come to that when you know that you know that you know for a fact he can do it and is just choosing to play one over on mom and dad, but at this point I wouldn't say that is completly the issue.... it might be part of it... but the bigger picture is that our kids resist change, and in fact it scares them.... and your husband is asking him to change something he's used to... which is scarey for him.... give him time, always give him the option to do it on his own... and see what happends.

Jakob will also SOMETIMES eat with a fork, usually a few bites and then it goes to the floor. He would rather eat something he can hold in his hand. NOTHING goes in his mouth without his touching it first. He also will sometimes stick food on his fork and then take it off with the other hand to put it in his mouth. I've just recently began trying with the spoon again. I bought the maroon spoons (suggested by ST) , I'm not sure if they make a difference yet, only tried them once. We are also doing the scooping and pouring of oatmeal, sand or rice with toys to help him with the idea of scooping. The OT suggested to me today to try having him scoop peanut butter with the spoon, since even if he doesn't scoop it properly, enough will stay on the spoon to make it to his mouth. Haven't tried yet though...maybe tomorrow. SOOOO many things to try...so little time lately! I would also think it best not to force the issue at their young age. I present it to Jakob and if he gets irritated, we stop. Food isn't really a good motivator for him either, and I don't want to develop an aversion to the whole issue. We have bigger fish to fry at this point!

Ds eats w/ spoon when it's yogurt, although he likes to dip his fingers in it and lick them. Other things he likes to eat w/ fingers because then he can sort out what he wants to eat and in what ordr.

How do you find this developmental age thing? All I know is his speech was put at about 15mths. Do they figure this out once they are dx'd?

Amber

This is an issue that came up last night ... Luke is 27 mos old and PDD-NOS.  We have gotten him to eat from a fork when we load the food onto it (though given the chance, he'll eat with his fingers instead).  However, although he CAN eat with a spoon (we've seen him do it several times now), he chooses not to.  And it's not the food on the spoon he has an issue with ... he simply does NOT want to be the one spooning the food into his mouth!  He'll eat if we're the ones feeding him, though.  Last night DH was giving Luke some pureed broccoli (the only vegetable he'll eat) and decided that it was time for Luke to feed himself.  They had a huge battle, ending when Luke decided to 'give himself a broccoli shower' (in hubby's words) be/c dh refused to keep feeding Luke since Luke is capable of doing it himself (and did so for a couple of spoonfuls until he refused).  A little while later, after tempers had subsided, I tried getting Luke to eat again ... which he still would NOT ... and resorted to just feeding him with the spoon myself (resulting in Luke finishing the whole serving).  DH was unhappy that I fed him, since he thinks Luke will never do it himself unless we force him to.  My feeling is that Luke is ONLY 2 and even all NT 2 y/o don't feed themselves with utensils on a consistent basis.  And, after all, he NEEDS to eat his broccoli!

Any thoughts on this?  If I'm wrong and the consensus is that we should be forcing Luke to use the skills he has (using the spoon), then I'll comply.
Kellie

I would say that is quite normal with kids on the spectrum.  If there ever is such a thing.

Tammy

sorry kellie-mason does not have a problem using forks/spoons due to his sensory issues he has never liked anything to touch his hands if they get dirty he screams! if he uses a fork and ketchup gets on his finger by accident he freaks out and has to have it wiped of immediately.

hope someone can help you with this.

my nt 2 1/2 yo still exchanges between his hands and his fork/spoon.  It doesn't matter what type of food it is either (melting jello comes to mind).  So in some sense it he is still in the range when kids are learning to use utensils.I don't have any advice for you Kellie, but I can definitely relate!
Gavin is 3 1/2 and still doesn't use utensils. He will only ingest
fingers foods in bite size portions. It drives me crazy. Occasionally
he will eat noodles with a fork, but he will avoid it if he can. My
husband gets irritated too. I just don't think he would eat if we cut
out the finger foods and tried the utensil route. Food is not a
motivation for him. He would just assume go hungry. I have to put a
baby gate on my kitchen just to get him to sit at the table and eat.
That alone took me 18 months to master so I just tell my husband
that we have bigger battles to fight with him....I think eating with a
utensil is low on our list at this point. Maybe someone will have
some suggestions for us though.
Karen

We have been working on self feeding in OT. Owen use to have adversions to utensils, and wouldn't even let me feed him with a spoon. (even though as a baby, he ate from me all the time)

He finally lets me feed him again, and he has started to dip his spoon in..he can't get a real good scoop, but he is doing well with his practice pudding. The OT's suggestion was to practice with something he REALLY likes..choc pudding, even caramel or icecream, everyday. or in the sand box..scooping with a shovel sand into a bucket (bigger tools might be easier, and he will still get the concept)

Personally I just let Owen attempt each meal and then I take over. He has motor planning issues, and it is hard for him to coordinate for an entire bowl full.

She was pleased to see him just dip, and says that is at his level..he is 26mnth old. but socially at a 6-9mth level..I think it is starting to raise to 12mths..he is improving all over.

Thanks everyone!  I knew I wasn't wrong with the utensil issue!   Tammy, you're right about 'expecting' things from Luke at his developmental age, not his actual age.  I'll have to find the doc's report on that.  I think it was somewhere around 16 mos.  At this point, I think it's largely a power issue ... we want him to do it so he won't do it.  He doesn't mind the fork at all though!  Oh well.  As long as he eats.  I agree that we have to pick our battles and am not sure if this is a real important one to win right now.  Luke tends to get frustrated fairly easily and maybe he doesn't feel terribly confident with the spoon be/c things fall off it so easily.  Anyway, I appreciate everyone's input!
Kellie
Connor had alot of trouble using utensils and nothing says holiday fun than a 3 yr old eating mashed potatoes  with his hands at your up tight inlaws house! LOL my theory was - hey he's eating. what i did was i would let him eat with his hands but after each bite i would make him pick up his spoon and just touch the food with it using the word "plop" in a high pitched voice to make a game out of it. we did this for a few weeks than made a machine like beeping noise as we taught him to bring the spoon up to his mouth followed later by anoise only described like a predator pouncing on his prey (huhscrump) when we taught him to put the spoon in his mouth. the noises intrigued him and got his attention ( much like the airplane noises you would use when feeding a child, the buzzing of the engine gets them ready to open their mouths)  the noises were eventually phased out and he can now eat with a fork and spoon.We also use a spoon that we bought at Target that has a bunch of
holes in it and it will keep food on it (like yogurt or applesauce) even
when Gavin is only dipping the spoon in instead of scooping. Having
success getting food on the spoon makes him more willing to keep
trying. It also has a curved handle that helps teach him to hold it
correctly. When he is willing to use a spoon, that is what we always
use.
karen

Kellie, Tyler would not feed himself because if a drip of anything got on his hand or any other part of his body he FLIPPED OUT!!!! At 9 3/4 he still has great difficulty in feeding himself with a utensil. He can't quite manipulate it right to turn it and easily put it in his mouth, he instead brings it to his mouth sideways and cups his hand to it and tips it in which now results in a huge mess all over his hands (Hey what happened to freaking out when something got on him??? LOL) So usually after a few tries with his utensil he holds the utensil in one hand and graps food in his other (bare) hand and feeds himself. I think its a motor skill delay and its just easier for him... Maybe they cant "feel" where the utensil is in realtion to their mouth (like a proprioception type thing?)

I wonder since Luke is still so young id making a huge deal out of him doing it himself would encourage him to continue doing it? Clapping hands praisin ghim even rewarding him... I know he cant count yet but maybe push a small portion to a side and say if you eat this much with your fork / spoon you can have a cookie or something?

Good Luck

Oh wow can I relate. DD hates to use utensils. We eat all foods with our hands. She will sometime use a spoon but only if its plastic. She will freak if any metal is put on her highchair. I use plastic at the table alot too to offer her a bite of mine.Wow ... what great ideas you all have given me!  I mentioned what you've said to my DH and he still thinks that this is something that must be conquered sooner rather than later ... but since I'm the one who feeds him almost the whole day, I guess that doesn't matter much.   Will definitely be trying a bit from what each of you have said ... especially the part of making the utensils available for his use (particularly the spoon) and trying different kinds of spoons.  Maybe when he sees his baby brother eating with a spoon, he'll be encouraged to do likewise!   Either way, I'm glad Luke isn't the only one with this issue.

We do make a HUGE happy deal when he uses the spoon and when he loads his own fork (which he requires help with) ... always elliciting a proud smile from him, but after a while (about 90% thru the meal) he'll resort to using his hands anyway (like taking the food off the fork and putting it in his mouth).  Well, I guess it's like with everything else ... baby steps!
Copyright Autism-PDD.net