Fussy Eater | Autism PDD

I am wondering if anyone else has problems getting their child to eat more than certain kinds of foods...my daughter only wants to eat chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, chocolate pudding, pancakes, junk food (LOL), some juice or a smoothie.

She refuses vitamins, pedisure, things like that......I honestly think that if she ate what we did, I would pass out from shock!!

My husband and I are currently trying to get a "wrap around" to help her with textures of different kinds of foods.

I'd love to hear your thoughts

TerrellzToonz38601.5314930556

ggggggrrrrrrrr eating!!

Jack is a nightmare with eating and will eat very very few foods and most unusually its the healthly food he wants at the minute well cucumber and raw carrot at least which is great apart from the fact they have very few calories and he has lost 4 kg ver the summer which is not good he likes chicken nuggets but only fast food ones he did for awhile eat my homemade ones but thats stopped now he won't take peadisure,enlive,calogen, duo cal or anything of that nature he won't have viatmins if we put it in juice he stops drinking and since we are lucky to get 10 oz of fluid down him in a day this is not good we see doc on wed and dietician week after and i am not leaving either until we get this sorted something will have to be done he is 6 and a half average height and weighs 30lbs so not good

I know we are very lucky that our DD is actually a pretty good eater, very messy, but she has always eaten well. It's funny because my older NT daughter was actually a very picky eater and still is at 8. She still will only eat certain foods (and recently announced that she is now a so called vegetarian except for pizza and turkey dogs of all things!!!)

However, even though Ansley has always eaten a good variety of foods, she is now getting pickier and eating a little less. But we saw this with our older daughter between age 2 and 5 as well. I think their growth rate slows down alot. Our Doc says alot of kids naturally do this at this age....many NT kids I know are very picky and will only eat certain foods/textures/temperatures/etc. Hannah (the NT one) used to insist on the same exact thing for breakfast every morning for months at a time and then get stuck on something else for months at a time.

I know it's more of an issue with some kids on the spectrum, but I guess it's just like anything else we deal with - it's sometimes hard to determine what is "normal" and what is being caused by autism/sensory issues. (except, obviously, when the child has a physical allergic reation) .................

Personally, and I've worked with children my whole life but I'm no authority - this is just observation, I think every child is sensory and has abnormalities on some level. It just seems like kids on the spectrum have extremes - and for reasons usually beyond our comprehension (especially when they're non-verbal).

kaviar - BTW your little guy is SO adorable lovin on his moo-cow! Jake also has a very limited diet, although it's gotten a LOT better over the last year. It used to be that he would only drink milk from a bottle and eat plain pasta. That's it! He wouldn't even consider trying anything else, but he's very slowly expanding his tastes. At least now he'll put something new to his lips before he rejects it, but he hasn't even seen a vegetable in at least a year, we don't even bother anymore. He gets a multivitamin, in gummy bear form (he thinks they're candy) and still drinks a ton of milk (still from a bottle) so right now I'm not too worried about his nutrition.

Edit: Oh, and kaviar: Your little pumpkin is SO CUTE!! We've got some good lookin' kids here, don't we?
JillNJake38603.8061805556In some ways Luke eats a lot more than other toddlers, but in other ways he eats less. For example, he will not eat fruit at all except for apples and the only veggies he eats are pureed brocolli, some crushed peas, and an occasional tomato from tomato sauce. He eats all kinds of meat and carbs, however. We have him on vitamin supplements (crushed multivitamins and liquid vitamins in his juice). We got him tested for food allergies and found he was allergic to dairy, yeast, soy, and eggs, so we don't allow any of those in his diet anymore. He's much better since we eliminated those foods.

What is a 'wrap around' to get used to textures? I've never heard of that.

Kellie
My ds right now will only eat cereal, waffles, chicken nuggets but only if there from a fast food resturant and cheese sticks from Pizza Hut. Today for instance he has only eaten waffles and cereal, if I try to get him to eat anything else he will refuse and it will become a huge battle. I'm not sure if it is a texture thing with him or just a phase. I really worry about his health but he seems to be fine. We give him a multi vitamin so at least he gets something. I wish you luck with the wrap around.

We are currently looking for a "wrap around" who can help re-teach an autisic child to learn to eat new foods---textures from different foods (instead of the ones she likes to eat) make her "freak out" and not eat! (ie: broccolli)

My husband and I were told by our daughter's Psychologist that some autistic learning habits in the brain only allow certain foods, although the child may really want to try other things, they can't....so we were told that although she is an older child, she may have to re-start all over again with puree foods!

Like yours, my son eats less than 10 foods. We had trouble giving him pediasure in the beginning too, but since he like chocolate shakes, it was very easy to start making them with the chocolate pediasure, now he does drink them fine. I swear by the stuff (but SO expensive) ... If you make chocolate pudding---maybe you can sub the milk for that??.

Also wanted to mention...Carol Stock Kranowitz's book - THe Out of Sync Child Has Fun" also had some ideas on introducing foods.

Good luck Terrell!!!!
~Lesley

This is such a common problem for kids on the spectrum. It goes along
with their perseverative nature. We have been working with a behaviorist
for the past six months to get Connor to try new foods. We have had
success in getting him to eat new things and to add some fruits and
vegetables to his diet, though he doesn't like anything he tries. If left to
his own devices, he would still stay away from all of the new foods. If he
wants video game time, though he has to earn it by eating a healthy food
or having a glass of juice. He gets 20 minutes for each glass or healthy
snack. He tolerates juice the best, because he can down it quickly and
get it out of the way, but he still gives me this face

and a whole lot
of dramatics to go along with it. You'd think I was poisoning the kid! We
also don't let him have his favorites, MacDonald's or Domino's without
him having one serving of something healthy first.

I've tried holding out (many many times) and it just doesn't work with Riley...he's gone a long time without eating. I finally have to give in, or he'd never eat. It's not a matter of being picky (our oldest was picky) or stubborn...sometimes like I said, he won't come near the table, like when dad's having salmon for instance...or there's stew of some sort on the table.

We have the added problem of CVS, so when he goes without eating (4 days this week alone) it's more a matter of urgency that he gets something in him.

ARGH! It's so frustrating though! Cheese has to be a certain type/color, medicine has to be pink, bread can only be white...on and on. But he's darn cute! And I sure love him anyway!!!

Zack is extremely picky too! He has never tried a fruit or veggie (except babyfood from 6-12 months...then he refused). His diet consists of Cream of rice, ricebread toast, Koala bear Krisps, Bacon, and occasionally GF dinosaur chicken nuggets, blue corn chips, GFCF icecream on a cone, GFCF chocolate cookes, and sometimes McDonald's FF's. Even before the GFCF diet, it was the same menu except Oatmeal instead of Cream of Rice, wheat toast, and cottage cheese of all things

We used to work with an OT, but I hated her approach. She had a 3 try rule. She would force Zack to at least open his mouth for 3 bites of a new food. He could spit it out, but he had to open his mouth for it. I HATED those 2 months we tried it and we fired her after that. She ruined some previously accepted foods and it took a long time to get those back (she would try to hide fruit in his cottage cheese, etc).

Food tantrums are common in our house. We just try our best to get him to eat enough to keep growing.

Easter seals what the place that told me my sons problem is a Regulatory issue. Try using juice plus or the equal to it at health stores. Hi all, My first question and I hope you all don't think I am totally crazy, but you all talk about your ds - what is a ds ??? About diet my son is 6 years and for a long time will go through stages of only eating one kind of food (all junk food). Sausage rolls for weeks on end, then nuggets, the latest is pizza all full of preservatives. The school is at present getting him to taste all sorts of fruit and vegies at school by getting other children to taste first. Diet has always been a major worry, but of late I say diet line up - there are too many other concerns. Lukes dexamphetamine has just been increased and I know a major side effect of dex is weight loss, so at present I am happy if he eats anything......Leanne - DS is darling son, DD darling daughter, and DH is darling
husband. Kudos to your son's school for getting him to eat fruits and
veggies. We have to use video games, MacDonnald's and Dominos as
leverage to get Connor to eat healthy foods.

IBGECKO38614.4666203704i woould take something he really wanted and tell him he had to at least try something new before he could have it. . can only do one new thing at a time. he was only reguired to take the new thing up to his mouth and touch his lip with it. he eats more stuff now but no veggies or fruit so he takes vitamins. also school helped out. he always seemed ot do things for his teachers that he wouldn't do for me. i would send in new things for lunch and he would try it for the teacher. Thanks guys ... I always say that even if Luke never gets to the head of his class, he'll always get by on his looks!

I love seeing others' kids here ... they're all so adorable and huggable-looking!

Kellie
LOL Kellie, I say that, too. He can always be a male model, right?

Hi, I'm new here but have read all the posts. My son Shawn, almost 4, eats only Nestle baby cereal, like pablum, and milk from a bottle, THATS IT!!!!! I give him Boost in with his milk because he looked like a skeleton! Now he weighs about 55lbs. No dark circles under his eyes, no bones poking out. I seriously thought I was going to have to have a feeding tube inserted, I was very worried. Now I wish he would eat but I am not worried that he is going to die anymore. If you offer him any new food, he will gag just by looking at it. He has also mastered the art of projectile vomiting, which happens almost daily. His therapists and I have been working 3 days a week, 3 hours a day to try and get him to eat, after a year we have gotten as far as putting a raisin to his lips, we distract him first and go in quickly, but he hasen't puked thus far...*fingers crossed* My goal on his service plan is to get him to eat a happy meal!! I know that sounds sad, but I can't take him out for the day because we have to be back here to eat!! No drive thru for my lil man. It is nice to know that tons of other people have gone or are going through this............Good Luck to us all!!
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