peanut butter sandwiches for eternity??? | Autism PDD
Linda,
I love that..."grouchy mouth" ha ha!!
I always offer her a little of everything that we're eating and sometimes she will take a taste. There are some things she used to eat that she doesn't eat anymore but her list continues to grow little by little. School has definitely helped with that :) . I pay for a tray every day along with the lunch I send with her. She takes bites of things on the tray and they let me know if she tries anything new.
She loves school but I dread starting soooo much. We start August 8th. I just love being with her and my other two girls every day all day. It's tough letting go of them - even though it's just 7 hours a day :( .
[QUOTE=melomo83]
Do you all feel that this is one of the things that goes along with ASD? I've noticed in things I've read that pickyness could be a related factor.
Any feedback on that one?!!
[/QUOTE]
Absolutely. Part of the sensory stuff ... and not just textural! However T one day told me she did not want chips, as she had a "grouchy mouth, today."
I would keep trying to offer other foods but if PB & J is all he'll eat I'd probably give it to him. My son has gone through the PB & J stage. Now he just wants tuna sandwiches. He will also eat nutragrain bars, applesauce, lime yogurt, crackers, cheese and Mcdonalds cheeseburgers -the pickles and onions. I also feel bad feeding him the same thing over and over but I bet they will outgrow some of this eventually.
Laurie
Do you all feel that this is one of the things that goes along with ASD? I've noticed in things I've read that pickyness could be a related factor.
Any feedback on that one?!!
Shelley, I am sure she stole the term from a teacher talking to a mouthy kid, but I LOVED the way she used it!My youngest son (NT?) is a picky eater, but what you're talking about is a resistant eater, so if your concerns persist, you might want to consult an OT or feeding specialist.
During meals at our house, we often play the silly "Pelican Game". A couple times during the meal, I'll look at their plates and if there's any food gone (especially food that they were reluctant to eat in the first place), I act like I'm all surprised and convinced that a pelican must have come and taken their food when my back was turned. I'll look out the window to check for pelicans, etc. and generally ham it up. The kids think it's hilarious.
I didn't think anything of this game until I tried it on my 4 year old nephew a couple weeks ago. He is a resistant eater, and my sister has tried everything, read every book on picky eating, etc. All to no avail. But when she started doing the Pelican Game with him after seeing me do it, she says it has caused a dramatic improvement in his eating habits. I think it's because it rewards his eating without drawing direct attention to his eating issues (he doesn't like to talk about it or get praised for eating).
Also, here are some potentially helpful online resources:
This brochure might help: "Understanding and Managing Extreme Food Refusal in Toddlers."
http://www.infantandtoddlerforum.org/objects/pdf/fact_sheet2 .3.pdf
Here's an article from the Indiana Resource Center for Autism. It's called "Mealtime and Children on the Autism Spectrum: Beyond Picky, Fussy and Fads."
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/Medical/mealtime.html
Sensory Professing Disorder Companion, a newsletter issue devoted to picky eating, with info based on the highly-recommended book "Just Take A Bite."
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/The_SPD_Companion -picky-eaters-and-resistant-eaters.html
If any of these links are broken, let me know.
being picky is okey to me. the problem i have with my 5 son, food has to be hot hottttttttttt. also he never take a bit. he make it small pices and make sure nothig is in it then he eat.
Well, the problem is with the other daycare kids ( i do in-home daycare). So, I try to do "healthier" foods just as if I were under state guidelines-- meat and veggies--which means not having what he wants every day.
He used to eat more things, but seems to get stuck on this peanut butter thing!!! He used to eat: hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, grilled cheese, and some others. I get a little frustrated because I know he used to eat these foods that I fix for everyone else, but won't touch them now.
What should I do: fix him peanut butter sand. and serve the others their regular lunches? We are pretty sure that he will end up with some type of ASD diagnosis, but we just had the meeting about my concerns last week. So I feel bad for him.
We have had very few pizzas this summer ... leaving us with:
buttered pasta with parmesan
fake chicken nuggets and ketsup, which she eats separately, with a SPOON.
What to do? Introduce other stuff, alongside (but, on a SEPARATE plate, of course!)
I don't know what to do about feeding this child anymore.
He has gotten so picky about what he wants that I have just about run out of options. All he wants to eat for lunch is peanut butter sandwich and cheetos. Although I usually do this for lunch maybe once a week, he will not eat hardly anything else!!! I feel terible about him "starving" or going all day hungry.
Do any of you have this problem with your child?
What can I do or is there anything that I can do?
I would appreciate any advice!!!
Sarah just wanted this all last year but now its summer she wants hot dogs...I wished she just ate the pb sandwiches now!
Tried and true foods she loves:
Mac and cheese (I buy the Michelina's 10 for ) frozen entrees
Mama Mary crust and pizza sauce (buy them separate) and mozz cheese..they are three crusts in a bag and just the right size for her..I place in toaster oven for 5 minutes and she always eats the whole thing!
pizza lunchables..minus the sauce packet:)
Fish sticks/popcorn chicken
FRIES:P
That's about it for her lunch choices thus far!
All JUNK food but the list is gradually growing:)
I have a perpetual pepperoni eater here. He eats pepperoni with every meal. I try to add in some kind of cracker or chip, but he usually just ignores those. My nt older son would eat peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches for lunch
everyday while he was in grade school. He did not tire of it until almost
middle school. i found an alternative to mc donald's nuggets, they are called "jurassic park nuggets". they are white meat nuggets shaped like dinosaurs. took me a while to get the boys to try them, because they were hooked on mc donald's, but these are actually alot better, and less greasy. they are pre-cooked so you just need to heat them up. bought at a big walmart... supercenter.
Here's what my sister wrote me yesterday about the "pelican game" strategy I mentioned in my earlier post (where you don't pay much attention to the eating, but when you notice food has disappeared from the plate, you act as if you think a pelican came and took it while you weren't looking):
The true key that turned everything around for us was that silly pelican
- who still is at our house every night. DS ate spaghetti noodles
with pizza sauce for the first time EVER yesterday and cleaned his
plate! Before he would gag on the noodles or simply refuse to try them
at all. Last night he ate a few in front of us, but then we were sure
to just go about our business and not pay any attention to him so he
could eat without feeling pressured - OR praised! He is also willingly
eating apples and bananas again. And happily eats mac-n-cheese and
spaghettios (no spoon feeding him while I spell out his name). It is
truly amazing how that pelican made him completely change things
around!!!"
Our little guy LOVES FROZEN peas - nto cooked. He also LOVES fresh cucumbers, snap peas and green beans, but NOTHING COOKED.
My son is a big ravioli fan too! Chef Boyardee, straight from the can, not heated at all....
When he was about 6, he was eating PB&J for lunch everyday at school. We started talking to him about "eating outside the box" our own variation of thinking outside the box. Whenever he would try something new, he would report that he "ate outside the box" and we would give him a big hug and tell him how proud we were. He didn't have to finish anything he didn't like, the only rule to the game was that he had to try it. While he still is a picky eater, his tastes have expanded significantly (although still nowhere near his brother, who at age 3 would tell me that he wanted spicy tuna rolls for dinner
Tiffany
Ok, just in case anyone doesn't know, I do In-Home Daycare. This child is not actually my child, but he is with me from about 8:00-4:00 every day!!! So, I guess he can be 1/2 mine!!! lol
I mean, he will eat, but only if he wants the food that I have prepared for that meal. Things he will eat: Breakfast: waffles, powdered sugar donuts, nutragrain bars, pop tarts Lunch: peanut butter sandwich, cheetos, fish sticks, occasionally chicken nuggets Snack: every once in a while will even eat anything-- graham crackers
I guess what I'm trying to get at is, if it were your child care provider, would you just ask her to feed him something you know he will eat just to make sure he does eat, or tell her to do the same for him as the other kids??? The thing that gets me is I really can't get through to him to reason with him yet. He will be 2 next month. I try to talk to him, but it's like he will maybe look at me for a few seconds then turn away ( he sits in a booster seat at meal times, so it's not like he is walking away from me) and it just doesn't have any effect on him. I know there is alot of progress to be made, but we haven't got there yet.
Sorry for rambling on and on!!!! I just want to be doing the right thing for him, I know he is different than any of the other kids. So, I just wondered how to treat the situation.
my son was hooked on ravioli for eternity... eventually i just decided that i can't do that anymore... it can't be healthy to eat that everyday... so i just quit serving it... he will easily go without dinner if he is not satisfied with the food that i offer... i've noticed that after a night of starvation, he will eat other things... but he is still very picky... his main source of food is pastas, he will pick out all the veggies, etc... but tonight he had a turkey sandwich... he ate the meat and threw away the bread of course, but at least it wasn't pasta. chicken, cheese, nuggets, pasta, pasta, fries, bread with raisins, bananas, strawberries, pringles, milk. this is what he eats. and that's about all he will eat. now his brother hasn't ate dinner two nights in a row... but i won't go back to ravioli until i think that they might starve. My kid's food issues are the other way around. He eats everything. Hedoesn't know when enough is enough. He has no idea about portion size,
and would eat all day if we let him. He's independant enough to start fixing
himself something without asking first, so it feels impossible to have any
control over it.
My son's tastes are always changing. He had his first hot dog a few weeks ago and loved it. Now he won't touch one. Also, he only eats deli chicken and cheese, pizza w/o any seasoning on it, and boxed mac and cheese, buttered spaghetti. Waffles only for breakfast, occassionally he'll try a cereal. He loves crackers, pretzels, and fruit snacks and fruit pops. Also McDonald's fries. Veggies are out, but he does eat apples, cantaloupe, and nectarines. SO even they're weird food choices and he's picky about brands and how it's cut/prepared, I'm very thankful that he eats at all. It really breaks my heart when I hear about kids w/autism who just won't eat at all :( Actually, I didn't realize how much my son ate until I typed it. He takes a daily Flinstone vitamin to supplement.
I haven't read through all the posts...I have been off the boards for a few days and want to go through a million posts now, lol.
So if this has been suggested already, sorry.
But what we just started with Mason is giving him 2 choices of something new...he needs to take at least 1 bite of the one he chooses and then he gets his regular. The first few days were rough, but now he has at least tried a couple of things for me. And guess what, lol...he actually likes bananas! Go figure...still won't eat a whole one but is taking several bites now before he tells me that he doesn't like it again, lol.
Our ped suggested that we only serve him what we are having and sooner or later he would eat what was put in front of him...well we went almost 2 weeks of doing that and I just couldn't take it anymore...I swear he would have rather starved than eat what I was putting in front of him.
I was just suggested to give him 2 choices...start off with sweet foods or something that he should like and just ask him to eat 1 bite...once he take that bite I can ask him if he wants more or would like something else...I stick with that food for a couple of days (example bananas and pears are what we are using now) and then in a few days I switch it again.
Hope that helps...and good luck...Mason is 6 and this has been a horrible struggle!
The psychologist who evaluated my son at a very well-renowned autismcenter in my state recommended we NOT make an issue out of food. She
stated that if we do, it will most likely back-fire on us. As long as my son
is eating a balanced diet....and she felt he was based on what I told her he
would eat,,,,she said to put this particular issue on the back-burner until
language, etc. were in place.
Many kids on the spectrum are notorious for being either picky or
reluctant eaters. Some of this may be sensory related, some fear of
change, and some just part of their temperment. I'm finding with my son,
that the more I make an issue of food, the more he resists trying new
things. Conversely, by backing off, he seems to be starting to show an
interest expanding his repertoire.
Currently, he'll eat most breads (including waffles, french toast and
pancakes), some fruits (bananas, pears, apples) , some dairy (yoghurt,
milk, cheese), and some proteins (chicken, peanut butter). He's pretty
open to a wide range of snacks. I supplement his breakfast milk with
"Carnation Instant Breakfast" to get some extra protein in him, and he
takes a multi-vitamin and Coromega fish oil dail.
In my opinion, In a day care situation with a special needs child, what he/
she eats really should be the parent's call. There's so much more that
goes into behavioral therapy with this type of child, and the eating
component needs to be factored in. Personally, I wouldn't force the food
issue with him at this point.....at age 2 my son would have had no
concept what you were trying to teach him by "making him go without".
If PB&J is all he'll eat, then by all means, that's what I'd serve.
Some parent's may have had success by forcing a child to eat what every
one else is......I've never had much luck with this strategy. I'm sorry, I by no means intended to lay a guilt trip on you or make you
feel bad. I was simply reacting to your intial post where it appeared from
what was stated that he would only eat PB&J and on those days when it
wasn't served, he would simply avoid eating. It's just the way I
interpreted what was said.
I'm probably a little sensitive to this issue, because it's been such a
struggle for us with my son, and we are just starting to see some light.
At age 2 my son was no where close to being able to reason with in this
area, and there were so many more important issues to address, that his
pickiness was the least of my worries at that point.
By all means make attempts to introduce him to other foods....and if you
can get him to try something new, great. Guess I just wouldn't have too
high of expectations in this area at this point. Food resistance/pickiness
can be a tough nut to crack. Best of luck.
Flintstones chewable vitamins will ease your pain! Haven't read all the posts, but really, if you are worried about the nutritional thing, this helps reduce the self induced mommy pressure.
Do you know how they have those packages of crackers (Nabs, some people call them, as in Nabisco) that are usually orange colored with peanut butter filling? Well, they have round, brown ones with peanut butter and jelly on them.
Granted, this is not exactly the fruit plate your mind wishes for, BUT it is both familiar AND different. If he buys into that, then maybe a ritz cracker with jelly. Then maybe a ritz cracker with a sugar sprinkled strawberry slice. Then maybe a couple strawberry slices on their own, etc.
I find that both my kids love baking , and it opens them to new stuff if THEY cook it. Perhaps you could put him on a step stool next to the sink, and use his kiddie scissors to cut open a bag of blueberry muffin mix. Help him dump it in the bowl and smell the powder. Yum. Have him fill the plastic measuring cup with 1 cup water and dump it in. Help him crack and egg, and add it.......
Just offer little pieces of new foods in addition to the sandwich and persevere. I read somewhere that a young child (NT!) will on average have to be offered a new food 20 times before they will actually eat it. Just stick the stuff on his plate and don't mention it.
Bon appetit!
I know when we got Kevin he would only eat peanut butter toast with a banana for breakfast then he would eat Mac & cheese for lunch. He hates vegies something awfull but he loves mashed potatoes so one day I was trying that south Beach diet and I saw how they made mashed cawliflower so I said what the Heck!! and low and behold Kevin loved my special potatoes but He still hates cawliflower LOL. He also likes my orange potatoes I am just the greatest cook ever in his eyes (Mashed potatoes and carrots).
for breakfasts now he eats cereal, pop-tarts, muffins (home made), He never drank milk either and now he drinks no less than 2 good glasses of milk a day What helped us a lot is him and I prepare 2meals a week together nothing hard mind you but something he likesand is prous of
Hope this helps
Tons of Hugs
Alice
I'm sorry if I seem on the defensive here, but you seemed to be fussing at me. This is all new to me to have a child like this in my home and I am just trying to do as much as I can for him. That's all. But thank you for your advice-- and I do agree to not make much over it and not to force feed.
Thanks to you all for trying to help. I just feel a little silly now.
We branch out periodically at home...He wanted hotdogs for awhile and then wouldn't eat one for 6 months! My advice...Just do your best. Feed him PB&J and try to introduce new things when and if the opportunity presents itself! The most important thing is that you care!!! Dylan does not like vegetables either. I could get him to eat just about anything when he was little but now he will only touch certain things. He will eat the rice cups with vegetables in it sometimes. My mom tries to trick him sometimes by mixing some green beans or other vegetables in his rice when she cooks rice and we are eating at her house. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. NOTHING GREEN touches Tuhina's lips! At least ... not at home ... though I HEAr she eats them at school ... I would want the provider to feed Brendon what he'll eat. I don't want my baby to go hungry ever. I know what that feels like and if I can help it that won't ever happen to him. We found out my dd would ANYTHING at daycare! At that age we were not concerned about her pickiness (I Was a picky little girl too!). And she ate VEGETABLES, and ranch dip, and SALADS of LETTUCE! ... and whatever the cook gave her, basically! When she went to Kg, when I sent her with a lunch, THAT is when the fun began. HOWEVER ... she never has eaten a spot of green, at home! And informed me the other day "We're not SUPPOSED TO eat vegetables, at home!" ???????????? Looks behavioral to me ... much of the time. But not ALL. I was just thinking the same thing this morning. My son started preschool a couple weeks ago and the only thing he wants in his lunch is cheese/salami/chips and a fruit snack or taco meat, shredded cheese and taco shells. This morning, as I'm packing him salami and cheese, I was wishing he ate something else for lunch. He won't eat sandwhiches at all. Here is his food list: Chips, chips and more chips, goldfish crackers, just plain white bread (sometimes), sasauge, hot dogs (sometimes), strawberries, banana's (sometimes), only McDonalds fries and chicken nuggets, tacos, fruit loops without the milk, Kool Aid, oreos, peparoni, salami, cheese, sometimes yogurt, top Ramen, and that's about it. He used to eat a lot more things, but he won't touch them anymore.
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