No Fruits or Veggies | Autism PDD

Melanie,

Although it seems quite simple to just use forced choices I have to be honest here. My son's receptive language is at 19 months of age so for me to give him a forced choice would seem ridiculous because he wouldn't even understand the language of the choice. Also with my son he has sensory integration dysfunction which causes him to not want to touch textures of certain types and this includes what he puts in his mouth. I'm sure i could force feed him but I think it would be quite impossible to do that either because of jaw clenching that he does due to sensitivities to his mouth. (even have a hard time getting a tooth brush in there..LOL) Alot of our children have food issues because of sensory and seem to be very picky eaters. This is actually a common thing in the spectrum. I can't tell you how many posts there have been on this message board alone for food issues and pickiness. If your daughter has never had these issues then that is so very fortunate. A lot of us worry to death about the nutritional intake of our children and have to suppliment with vitamins etc.

Karrie

Andy tolerated only bananas and applesauce as an infant, and hasn't been willing to eat ANY fruits or vegetables until just recently.

He's now 14, and "obsessed" with "getting bigger". He's now trying different fruits and vegetables because he knows they will help him grow "bigger and stronger".

This is just one more case where he's chosen to do something in his own good time. DH and I are thrilled that he's trying, and eating, fruits and vegetables!

Kim

karjab30 - I understand - which is why I said the blending in of smoothies is a wonderful idea. Makes me want to do it myself actually. My daughter does have food issues as well - luckily she has a preference for fruits, vegetables and soup. Anything with cooked cheese, seeds, or any foods mixed together she can't seem to handle.

She also eats salt straight of out the salt shaker and steals salt packages from any restaurant we go to. I usually have to do a pat down when we leave and empty her pockets. We have to hide our salt shaker - it's not just a little taste of salt here or there, it's eating it like it's part of the food pyramid. We even have to warn people before we go to their houses - hide your salt shaker. She will find it and it will be empty before we leave. :(

Going to the beach...she drinks the water.

ahh kids and their food.

Melanie

Melanie,

I'm sorry..LOL....I'm sitting here with a vivid image of you patting your daughter down at the resturant and people thinking that your patting her down for tips, silverware, etc....only low and behold.....it's SALT. LOL I know its got to be frustrating but I can't help but find the humor in that one.

Karrie

I have some great ideas for you guys. Our 34 mo. son has been picky in the past, but we seemingly do better all the time, and he sometimes will say "more try" (meaning he wants to try things he sees us eating). That said, vegetables are a weak area in his daily menu. Here are some of the things we've tried with some success:

http://www.justtomatoes.com/: This company makes dried peas, corn, tomatoes, etc. that have all of the nutritional content of the real deal but with a crunchy "snacklike" texture that our kid loves. We love them, too (esp. the peas and corn... so sweet!).

Veggie Booty: This is another thing that our kid accepts as "snack" food, but it has tons of great vitamin and mineral content.

Avocado: Our son loves guacamole on corn chips, and avocado is extremely nutritious. Additionally, avocado blends into lots of other things... smoothies, popsicles (try it!), etc.

Popsicles: Make your own. Can be made from extremely healthy juice, and you can blend in avocado or fruit, as well. Our son loves anything icy, so this is a great way to get him vitamins and nutrients.

Good luck!
Alas...you'll have no luck whatsoever getting my son to eat any of these things...he get's on kicks of eating the same thing every day for days or weeks on end...we just ended a 20-day run of dry toast for breakfast, dry toast for lunch, grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. He's so 'tough' he won't even drink outside the house "I have milk at home" He's a miracle of science for sure...but if it weren't for pediasure, I don't know where he'd be. Luckily he picked up spaghetti again, (lunch and dinner, day 3) at least I can puree carrots into that...
~Lesley

Jeffrey was a real good eater up until the age of 2 1/2. Then I had to go back to mashing his food up like he was a baby. Even had to put sugar in the vegetables to get him to eat it. Which I was told then is quite common with kids on the spectrum. But I was also told to never force them to eat anything. If you do this , they will learn to hate food.

Tammy

Thanks, mark_dad! I have seen those Just Tomatoes products at Whole Foods, but totally forgot about them! We have tried the Fruity Booty, but DS wasn't crazy about it. Maybe he would like the Veggie Booty; it's probably more on the salty side than the Fruity Booty which is very sweet.

The school where DS goes does not allow raisins since they can be a choking hazard, so the only fruit I've been sending is the dried strawberries and I feel bad because I want to send balanced lunches. Publix (our local grocery store) sells the dried strawberries and dried berry mix (which is almost exactly like raisins) but I had forgotten about those other dried products. I will go back to Whole Foods soon and check it out again!

I will also continue w/ the breads and smoothies and hope that like Kim's Andy, DS will eventually come around! LOL

Thanks,

Jen

My son refuses to eat any fruits or vegetables except for dried fruits (raisins, freeze-dried strawberries, dried cherry/blueberry/cranberry mix). Sometimes he'll eat applesauce. I don't know if this is just a "3-year-old pickiness" issue or an ASD issue. He used to love fruit and when he was a baby he LOVED veggies. Now I have to sneak them into things like smoothies and breads.

Anyone else have this issue?

Thanks,

Jen

The only veggie my son will eat is corn. And that one is few and far between. The only fruits he will eat are raisins, grapes and apples and that is it.

Karrie

What happens if he *has* to eat them?

I think the sneaking the food into smoothies and breads is a great idea. Definitely less hassle there and sometimes it's definitely about picking your battles.

Kids definitely go through phases with foods - so it could be the age. You could always try the forced choice approach that works well with my daughter...

"you can eat your carrots and watch tv or you can eat your carrots and get ready for bed..."

Forced choices work like MAGIC with any child.

I've heard about this done with a very autistic child that refused to eat chicken nuggets. Why the parents wanted him to - is a mystery BUT he was the type that needed a schedule so they just wrote "eat chicken nuggets" on the schedule and they went down w/out any complaint.

melanie

i grate veges into stuff the kids hardly notice the difference and carrot and zuchinni and capsicums taste really nice in spaghetti, most veges grate really well and u can always use the smallest setting so that they cant really see them in there..or puree them too ....im lucky that jessi has always been a fantstic eater ALTHO.. she will eat raw and frozen veges but not cooked stuff???.. the only veges she wont eat is cabbage

Cabbage is not a favorite with Jeffrey either. Could be the texture of it. Maybe with the veggies cooked she thinks they are too mushy looking? It wouldn't surprise me if some kids go by the way something looks.

Tammy

personally i think perhaps is just a way to get into the kitchen to watch me cook, she is absolutely fascinated with it .. but it drives me insane!! shes always touching things we have to put every single thing up in the kitchen or she will grab it and run away with it.. she will give things to me sometimes if i say "TA" is a stern voice but if she really really wants what shes got she will chuck a mental..ive tried to teach her yuk and hot but she just doesnt nderstand myself and scott sometimes say she is either going to kill herself or all of us one day!! i cant use the griller under the oven anymore because she will jsut reach in there , even if im standing right there...no matter how many times we have tried to teach her not to its like she doesnt care..

I know with Gabe's hearing processing delay, he can hear you just fine. Plus he has what I call selective hearing, don't all kids have that at one time? Lol. But the way it was described to me is with Gabe he does know right from wrong but the part of the brain that tells him not to do it is short circuited. Meaning his impulsiveness gets in the way. So even though he knows he shouldn't play with fire, that part of the brain misfires. It is only thru constant repetition that hopefully one day they will get the point.

Tammy

I've decided that tomato sauce is a double gift from God -- a Fruit AND a Veggie! LOL This was decided yesterday when Luke ate chicken with tomato sauce and the sauce had chunks of tomato in it.

So now I can successfully say that Luke eats TWO veggies (tomatos [sauce] and pureed broccoli) and TWO fruits (apples and tomatos [sauce])!

I'll have to try the dried veggies ... I saw them online last night, but will look if our local store (Giant Eagle) sells them. Are they 'tastier' than cooked veggies? I'd be THRILLED if Luke would snack on them.

A quick cute story ... a couple of days ago, I was eating some jarred peaches and offered Luke a small piece on a fork for him to eat. He came over with a huge grin and took it off the fork (I was so happy!), then he leaned over and put the peach right in MY mouth!! Then he walked away giggling.

What a silly!
OH man, the JustTomatoes dried veggies are MUCH tastier than cooked. I hate canned veggies myself. I like fresh. But the dried peas and corn (in particular) are really sweet! almost candy-like. Try them and let me know how your kid does with them! Ours doesn't always go for them, but he will occasionally, which is better than I can say for fresh veggies, and the nutritional content is identical to fresh.

Jen

My son will not any fruits or vegetables, he has his five/six set foods that he eats and refuses to eat anything else. My best suggestion is to try doing shakes or making breads he will eat with a few extra little things. For jason in the fall I make pumpkin chocolate chip bread and then I can usually add things like cranberry's or carrots and not really change the taste so he will still eat it. The other thing we have tried is getting the yoplait yogurt with the fruit in it and mixing it down with milk to make him a flavored smoothie. I have talked to several dr.'s and some dieticians and they seem to thing that it is pretty normal with children to go through phases and that some how the body makes up the nutrients it is missing if they refuse to eat a certain food group.

Jen,

We have very similar issues with our son's eating and after 3 years of sneaking fruits and veggies in and/or supplimenting with vitamins in hopes of providing balanced nutrition, we are trying some new tricks. After guidance from our behaviorists, we are using more of a carrot and stick method. Gradually, in order to desensitize his mouth to different textures, we are trying to introduce them gradually with the pay off of a bit of treat or something he really likes as he takes each step. Even if it is only to touch something to his mouth that he would otherwise find repulsive, he will get a pay off. As we progress through each step, until actually taking bites and then finding another food of similar color or texture so we are capitalizing on the familiar while introducing the new without trying to change too much all at the same time. It is a lengthy process, but we are SLOWLY seeing progress - given a new try at GFCF diet, I could no longer rely on the limited diet he was used to and now new foods are a must.

Good luck, please let me know if you have questions.

My dd has oral sensory issues that make her overly picky about her food. Do you ahve a dehydrator? Maybe you can make some some dried veggies. You might want to go to a health food store to see if they sell any dried veggies just to try. You can dehydrate carrots, sweet potatos and sweet grape tomatos.

You can bake veggies into breads and muffins (which is predominately what we do). We make zuccini bread, pumpkin muffins, corn bread, etc.

[QUOTE=little byrd]You can bake veggies into breads and muffins (which is predominately what we do). We make zuccini bread, pumpkin muffins, corn bread, etc.[/QUOTE]

Good call! Forgot about this one. We make incredibly healthy muffins with carrots and dried fruit. Our son asks for them by name all the time! Watch out for the next BM tho... typically gigantic!

learned some great tricks here...thanks for this thread! My son is also extremely picky, just gave up his bubba too, his only intake of milk ugh..but Jenni gave me some great tips and now I'm getting motivated...dehydration sounds good, I notice my guy will eat yogurt and has not problem w/ peanut butter, spaghetti and tom. sauce but will not eat soup or cooked veggies, he only just recently put a baby carrot stick in his mouth, didn't eat it but at least he tried...and also took a tiny bit of a banana...both huge for him, but I bet he'd like the chewy consistency of dried fruits and veggies! I'm gonna try it! thanks again!

hugs,

Ali