Eating issues

[Guest guest]

>I sometimes succumb to whining about her lack of fruits and vegetables.

>Good luck on this one.

>>Take care,>in San Diego

Tom wont eat fruit, but does drink 2litres of Orange Juice a day. I think

that's 1/2 gallon? Ziv never has 'time' to eat her fruit at school, but I

found ENERGY BARS from the SUN - RYPE company that are made from pure fruit.

They are soft and individualy wrappped.

wendy in canada

________________________________________________________________________

Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Judy,

Your son's list of acceptable foods sounds a lot like my daughter Kelseys. It's

as if she can senseif a food might have any some nutritional value so it's a no

go!

She did have a period with OCD food contamination issues which has now

completely resolved since her OCD has been effectively treated. (Have you ruled

this out? In other words, do you think that he won't eat certain foods because

they might poison him or something bad will happen?)

However, well before OCD onset and since, Kelsey is still one of the pickiest

eaters I know. This is tough for a nutrition-conscious mom like me as her diet

is terrible! I think for her this is party subclinical OCD " just so " stuff and

partly that she has a very limited palate for tastes and textures. When I think

about the human brain and all of its various permutations, I wonder if certain

traits and characteristics (like being a finnicky eater) just go along with NBDs

in general.

I try to avoid food battles as I know this can create other issues around food

but I sometimes succumb to whining about her lack of fruits and vegetables. Good

luck on this one.

Take care,

in San Diego

[Guest guest]

It gives me comfort to know I am not alone in this battle. His doctors

all seem to have never heard of such a thing. It is a combinatiton of

" contamination " and " just so. " Very frustrating. His CBT therapist has

made no progress in this that I can notice. She had him bring in food

to eat for awhile, but that didn't help. We may have to try something

like that again. I maintain that if he were required to eat something

without examining it microscopically, it might help boss it back.

Judy

Roman wrote:

>

> Hi Judy,

>

> Your son's list of acceptable foods sounds a lot like my daughter

> Kelseys. It's as if she can senseif a food might have any some

> nutritional value so it's a no go!

>

> She did have a period with OCD food contamination issues which has

> now completely resolved since her OCD has been effectively treated.

> (Have you ruled this out? In other words, do you think that he won't

> eat certain foods because they might poison him or something bad will

> happen?)

>

> However, well before OCD onset and since, Kelsey is still one of the

> pickiest eaters I know. This is tough for a nutrition-conscious mom

> like me as her diet is terrible! I think for her this is party

> subclinical OCD " just so " stuff and partly that she has a very limited

> palate for tastes and textures. When I think about the human brain

> and all of its various permutations, I wonder if certain traits and

> characteristics (like being a finnicky eater) just go along with NBDs

> in general.

>

> I try to avoid food battles as I know this can create other issues

> around food but I sometimes succumb to whining about her lack of

> fruits and vegetables. Good luck on this one.

>

> Take care,

>

> in San Diego

>

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[Guest guest]

Eating issues are one of the things I find hardest to deal with in my daughter's OCD-wracked life. I have been SO careful all her life to never do anything that might make her feel worried about her weight, simply because the feminist in me finds the whole topic so unbelievably ridiculous. We have never discussed fat, weight, diets, etc., only health, exercise, decent food, moderation in all things, etc. But, of course, OCD is starting to win that battle too. Annie has a friend in the neighborhood who is a few years older (12 I think) and is clearly anorexic. I try not to have Annie see her often for many reasons in addition to this girl's preoccupation with her looks and her weight, but of course they occasionally spend time together. Every time they do, Annie quits eating for a day or so afterward. I have managed to ignore it so far, but it is incredibly hard. It makes me want to scream at her "how can you be so ridiculous to worry about the size of your thighs at age eight!!" (or any age, for that matter). Her weight is always just hovering out there, on the edge of her obsessions. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it becomes the number one issue. Thankfully her wonderful therapist is also a specialist in eating disorders and is watching this carefully. Another friend of hers tried out skipping meals to lose weight but lost interest after a couple of days. Annie, on the other hand, started to cry hysterically about eating after two days because she "just couldn't - it makes me feel sick." Luckily she broke her arm on day three and forgot all about the eating thing.

I can't even imagine dealing with a teenager girl with OCD. I am counting on this list being there in 4 -5 years when we get there!!!!

[Guest guest]

,

You really had me laughing when you wrote, " luckily she broke her arm

on day 3 and forgot all about the eating thing " ! Only parents of

OCDer would think that breaking one's arm is a " lucky thing " ! I have

often wished that would break his leg (or at least a bad

sprain) so he would not be able to work out! (guilt, guilt, guilt!)

Melinda

> Eating issues are one of the things I find hardest to deal

with in my

> daughter's OCD-wracked life. I have been SO careful all her life to

never do

> anything that might make her feel worried about her weight, simply

because

> the feminist in me finds the whole topic so unbelievably

ridiculous. We have

> never discussed fat, weight, diets, etc., only health, exercise,

decent food,

> moderation in all things, etc. But, of course, OCD is starting to

win that

> battle too. Annie has a friend in the neighborhood who is a few

years older

> (12 I think) and is clearly anorexic. I try not to have Annie see

her often

> for many reasons in addition to this girl's preoccupation with her

looks and

> her weight, but of course they occasionally spend time together.

Every time

> they do, Annie quits eating for a day or so afterward. I have

managed to

> ignore it so far, but it is incredibly hard. It makes me want to

scream at

> her " how can you be so ridiculous to worry about the size of your

thighs at

> age eight!! " (or any age, for that matter). Her weight is always

just

> hovering out there, on the edge of her obsessions. I'm sure it's

only a

> matter of time before it becomes the number one issue. Thankfully

her

> wonderful therapist is also a specialist in eating disorders and is

watching

> this carefully. Another friend of hers tried out skipping meals to

lose

> weight but lost interest after a couple of days. Annie, on the

other hand,

> started to cry hysterically about eating after two days because

she " just

> couldn't - it makes me feel sick. " Luckily she broke her arm on day

three and

> forgot all about the eating thing.

>

> I can't even imagine dealing with a teenager girl with OCD. I am

counting on

> this list being there in 4 -5 years when we get there!!!!

>

[Guest guest]

You both made me giggle, thanks for the day-brightener! I can certainly

relate to enjoying it when circumstances beyond anyone's control--even

OCD's--make it impossible to continue a compulsion.

I was also guilty of playing a less-worrisome or dangerous compulsion

against one that really had me worried (seat-belt discomfort vs death

obsessions.) Although I know a compulsion is a compulsion, and an obsession

is an obsession, back when my daughter was ruled by them I would just get so

tired of the same ones! If I had to live with obsessions and compulsions, I

wanted new ones just for variety's sake! :-) Thank goodness for SSRIs and

especially ERP!

Break a leg!!

Kathy R. in Indiana

----- Original Message -----

From: <JSh1000@...>

> ,

> You really had me laughing when you wrote, " luckily she broke her arm

> on day 3 and forgot all about the eating thing " ! Only parents of

> OCDer would think that breaking one's arm is a " lucky thing " ! I have

> often wished that would break his leg (or at least a bad

> sprain) so he would not be able to work out! (guilt, guilt, guilt!)

> Melinda

[Guest guest]

:

I am hoping the same thing -- that this list will be hear in the next 4 or 5 years too. My son will be approaching adolescence by then and it scares me to death -- OCD will most likely compound the issue. (9) has food issues and has a terrible time with meat in particular. It was the first symptom we saw of OCD. He'll only eat things from closed packages. We're taking very little baby steps introducing his old "favorites" back into his diet. Right now he is only able to look at it for a few minutes a foot away. But at least he's doing it. He also suggested that we make a tally sheet showing howmany times OCD beats him and howmany times he beats OCD. I hope this visual will encourage him more to beat it up.

Thanks for your post. It's always nice to know you're not alone.

Tamra

(ocdmom2001)

Re: eating issues

Eating issues are one of the things I find hardest to deal with in my daughter's OCD-wracked life. I have been SO careful all her life to never do anything that might make her feel worried about her weight, simply because the feminist in me finds the whole topic so unbelievably ridiculous. We have never discussed fat, weight, diets, etc., only health, exercise, decent food, moderation in all things, etc. But, of course, OCD is starting to win that battle too. Annie has a friend in the neighborhood who is a few years older (12 I think) and is clearly anorexic. I try not to have Annie see her often for many reasons in addition to this girl's preoccupation with her looks and her weight, but of course they occasionally spend time together. Every time they do, Annie quits eating for a day or so afterward. I have managed to ignore it so far, but it is incredibly hard. It makes me want to scream at her "how can you be so ridiculous to worry about the size of your thighs at age eight!!" (or any age, for that matter). Her weight is always just hovering out there, on the edge of her obsessions. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it becomes the number one issue. Thankfully her wonderful therapist is also a specialist in eating disorders and is watching this carefully. Another friend of hers tried out skipping meals to lose weight but lost interest after a couple of days. Annie, on the other hand, started to cry hysterically about eating after two days because she "just couldn't - it makes me feel sick." Luckily she broke her arm on day three and forgot all about the eating thing. I can't even imagine dealing with a teenager girl with OCD. I am counting on this list being there in 4 -5 years when we get there!!!! You may subscribe to the OCD-L by emailing listserv@... . In the body of your message write: subscribe OCD-L your name. You may subscribe to the Parents of Adults with OCD List at parentsofadultswithOCD-subscribe . You may subscribe to the OCD and Homeschooling List at ocdandhomeschooling-subscribe . You may change your subscription format or access the files, bookmarks, and archives for our list at . Our list advisors are Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., Aureen Pinto Wagner, Ph.D., and Dan Geller, M.D. Our list moderators are Birkhan, Kathy Hammes, Jule Monnens, Gail Pesses, Kathy , and Jackie Stout. Subscription issues or suggestions may be addressed to Louis Harkins, list owner, at lharkins@... .

[Guest guest]

Tamra and ,

It is nice to know that we are not alone. 's fear with food

is that it is " unhealthy " . He could sit and look at a pizza all day

long as long as no one forced him to ingest something

so " destructive " to his athlete's body! But, of course, because of

what he has done to his weight and body fat level, he is far

less " healthy " than his younger brother who eats anything! Ironic!

Luckily for us, now hates his appearance because he is so

much smaller than his peers. But breaking those " heathy " eating

habits are so hard! We did have an experience today that I hope will

help. At a dr. appointment for a camp physical, the physician's

assist. mistook for his younger brother because he is so

small. She then showed him a growth chart on which his weight and

height were recorded and which showed a dramatic leveling off of

average growth at age 16/17 (R is 15). This has really scared him.

I don't think this will stem his exercise compulsions, but hopefully

his will really start eating alot (including food with some FAT in

it!!!!!!

Keep me posted as to how the eating problems are going with your

kids. I wish you great success.

Melinda S.

Dallas

> :

>

> I am hoping the same thing -- that this list will be hear in the

next 4 or 5 years too. My son will be approaching adolescence by

then and it scares me to death -- OCD will most likely compound the

issue. (9) has food issues and has a terrible time with meat in

particular. It was the first symptom we saw of OCD. He'll only eat

things from closed packages. We're taking very little baby steps

introducing his old " favorites " back into his diet. Right now he is

only able to look at it for a few minutes a foot away. But at least

he's doing it. He also suggested that we make a tally sheet showing

howmany times OCD beats him and howmany times he beats OCD. I hope

this visual will encourage him more to beat it up.

>

> Thanks for your post. It's always nice to know you're not alone.

>

> Tamra

> (ocdmom2001)

> Re: eating issues

>

>

> Eating issues are one of the things I find hardest to deal

with in my

> daughter's OCD-wracked life. I have been SO careful all her life

to never do

> anything that might make her feel worried about her weight,

simply because

> the feminist in me finds the whole topic so unbelievably

ridiculous. We have

> never discussed fat, weight, diets, etc., only health, exercise,

decent food,

> moderation in all things, etc. But, of course, OCD is starting to

win that

> battle too. Annie has a friend in the neighborhood who is a few

years older

> (12 I think) and is clearly anorexic. I try not to have Annie see

her often

> for many reasons in addition to this girl's preoccupation with

her looks and

> her weight, but of course they occasionally spend time together.

Every time

> they do, Annie quits eating for a day or so afterward. I have

managed to

> ignore it so far, but it is incredibly hard. It makes me want to

scream at

> her " how can you be so ridiculous to worry about the size of your

thighs at

> age eight!! " (or any age, for that matter). Her weight is always

just

> hovering out there, on the edge of her obsessions. I'm sure it's

only a

> matter of time before it becomes the number one issue. Thankfully

her

> wonderful therapist is also a specialist in eating disorders and

is watching

> this carefully. Another friend of hers tried out skipping meals

to lose

> weight but lost interest after a couple of days. Annie, on the

other hand,

> started to cry hysterically about eating after two days because

she " just

> couldn't - it makes me feel sick. " Luckily she broke her arm on

day three and

> forgot all about the eating thing.

>

> I can't even imagine dealing with a teenager girl with OCD. I am

counting on

> this list being there in 4 -5 years when we get there!!!!

>

>

[Guest guest]

Well, I had a mother that used to put my eating under a MICROSCOPE--

and never left me alone. That only caused me to REBEL! I used to

wish she'd leave me alone and give me some PEACE! It caused me to

not want to eat at all, and it made me very anxious when I DID eat!

Then, later in life, I started associating food with ANXIETY-- an

unhealthy combination. I think parents -- even though we mean well--

can get way too focused on our children's faults and nag/worry too

much. When went through his 'carrots and water only phase' I

left him alone about it and believed that he'd eat when he got

hungry! I reminded him that he had other choices, I modeled good

eating habits, then I let go! What else could I do? Stuff the food

down his throat? When he ate something other than a carrot - I

did cartwheels and danced around the room He saw how much that

pleased me, and kids naturally want to please their parents. This is

just a parenting technique I've used when my kids have gone through

the natural picky eating stages, and NOT an OCD/eating disorder

technique. If I had a kid that had an eating disorder, s/he'd be in

therapy rather than waiting for him/her to 'eat when he's hungry.'

Afterall, the advise here depends on the severity of the problem.

's picky eating phase wasn't that severe and seemed natural to

me. My other sons have gone thru' the peanut butter and jelly

sandwich phases that lasted for months. Both of them are now 19 and

17 and are in the 'normal' weight ranges.

I do believe that 's carrot phase WAS OCD related (because all

other foods were *contaminated* in his mind), but based on my own

childhood experiences, I knew better than to nag and over-worry about

him because that usually back-fires with the spirited personalities I

contend with around here. Paxil came into our lives about that time,

too... and it DID increase his appetite and reduce his fears about

food. Then, of course... he started gaining TOO much weight, and we

had to try something else.

Joni (who has had a fantastic OCD-FREE week with , 10yo)

>

> Just a couple comments on all the posts about eating/food issues.

> Someone mentioned the comment people always say about " they'll eat

> when they get hungry enough " and how that's wrong. I agree.

> For one thing, when you're feeling sick the last thing you want is

> food - even if that IS what you need and lack of food is why you're

> sick. (This observation from my own " dieting " days long ago.)

>

[Guest guest]

Joni,

So glad you had a good week with ! Fantastic!

You are right...there is a difference between picky eating and an

eating disorder. For people like who fear getting fat and

out of shape, controlling what they eat is very important. Therefore

the feeling of hunger to them is evidence of this control and

consequently happily received.

is now intellectually aware of the damage he has done, but

still struggles with the emotional side of these deeply ingrained

eating habits. He is making slow progress. You are right, I can't

stuff food down his throat. I did used to nag, but have cut back

significantly. He seems to need assurance that he should be

eating 'such and such'. I try to put the ball back in his court and

say, " It's up to you whether you want to grow or not. "

Paxil didn't seem to help much with either food anxiety or appetite,

but was on a pretty low dose and couldn't handle the

sleepiness that came with that. And or course now he is refusing

meds. But his doc is working with him on the eating/exercise issue

and that is all I can do. As I told , he is a wonderful

person and even if he moves into adulthood at his present size, he

will still be a wonderful person. (Of course, he nearly passed out at

the thought of that scenerio :-))

Hope this week is as good as last for !

Melinda S.

Dallas

> >

> > Just a couple comments on all the posts about eating/food issues.

> > Someone mentioned the comment people always say about " they'll

eat

> > when they get hungry enough " and how that's wrong. I agree.

> > For one thing, when you're feeling sick the last thing you want

is

> > food - even if that IS what you need and lack of food is why

you're

> > sick. (This observation from my own " dieting " days long ago.)

> >

[Guest guest]

Might I suggest something here:

First consider having an Ig food allergy test done(Sage Systems, ELIZA or great plains labs)

I was stunned to find my son had over 30 food allergies which literally inflame the gut.

I was also surprised that some of the highest food for reactivity were foods I was forcing and he was vehemently refusing. BTW this a medical test. Most of those foods are well tolerated now after a brief vacation from them.

I also found supplementing with zinc and the GFCF diet to be helpful.

A Harvard/ Tufts doctor by the name of Buie determined from scoping our kids that our children have horrible GI problems that go untreated. He actually found that self injurious kids had reflux problems that when treated the self injurious behavior stopped.

Zinc deficient kids are sensory defensive with food as well.

This may not be an just external behavior problem. I am happy to say my son who has been GFCF for 2 years eats more than pizza and bread now. But better than that he is gaining weight and much much happier. My prayers are with you.

J2thfamily@... wrote:

Our son, 10 yrs old with autism, has always been an extremely picky eater. About 4 months ago his speech therapist began helping us with a feeding program to introduce him to new foods - we started with fruits - he does okay with it, but he began having a bad gag reflex with foods he doesn't like. The gagging has lessened over time, but it is still pretty strong. The one time he actually swallowed watermelon he immediately threw it up - but we continue to work on this. My question...over the past 3 days now he has hardly eaten anything...even when offered his favorite foods he sometimes puts them in his mouth and gags (he has NEVER gagged at the foods he likes -- he only started gagging with the new introduction of fruits and vegetables - it may be sensory). He is still drinking okay - and is eating very small amounts - but has anyone dealt with something like this. Do eating programs usually cause these types of problems??

Normally I would consult his speech therapist who is helping us with this program, but this all started the day after she left for vacation and I can't get in touch with her.

any suggestions, thoughts on this matter or ideas will be appreciated!! thanks

Lou

Sell on Auctions - No fees. Bid on great items.

[Guest guest]

If what you are doing is making the eating issues " worse, " and you can't

get help for them right now, perhaps you could back off a little on

pushing what his body is rejecting until the " help " returns from vacation.

I know that many eating issues resolve with time. There is an article

on adult eating issues, that includes a review of a book on children's

eating issues, on my web page, in case you want to read about it.

Patty

http://www.autistics.cc

J2thfamily@... wrote:

> Our son, 10 yrs old with autism, has always been an extremely picky

> eater. About 4 months ago his speech therapist began helping us with a

> feeding program to introduce him to new foods - we started with fruits -

> he does okay with it, but he began having a bad gag reflex with foods he

> doesn't like. The gagging has lessened over time, but it is still

> pretty strong. The one time he actually swallowed watermelon he

> immediately threw it up - but we continue to work on this. My

> question...over the past 3 days now he has hardly eaten anything...even

> when offered his favorite foods he sometimes puts them in his mouth and

> gags (he has NEVER gagged at the foods he likes -- he only started

> gagging with the new introduction of fruits and vegetables - it may be

> sensory). He is still drinking okay - and is eating very small amounts

> - but has anyone dealt with something like this. Do eating programs

> usually cause these types of problems?? Normally I would consult his

> speech therapist who is helping us with this program, but this all

> started the day after she left for vacation and I can't get in touch

> with her.

>

> any suggestions, thoughts on this matter or ideas will be appreciated!!

> thanks

>

> Lou

>

[Guest guest]

Did this problem begin recently? Has he lost any weight?

Does he have a history of sensitivity to textures, smells, types of

food? I can't believe you are able to get him to take supplements---

what kind are you giving him? My daughter gags and vomits any type of

medicine/pills, and won't eat gummy products or bubble gum, so all I

have been able to give her is Pediasure.

Rome, GA

> Should I give up? Is this a hopeless cause? My son won't eat

> anything! I am giving him supplements at least but he seriously

> doesn't want to eat anything that doesn't have sugar in it. Any

> advice for a very picky eater?? Should I force food in his mouth?

He won't try anything at all.

[Guest guest]

,

I give my son supernuthera. It comes in a powdered form with an

orange flavor and I simply put it in his orange juice. He doesn't

notice it at all. I also put in some cod liver oil and he doesn't

notice that either. I just started it about 1 1/2 weeks ago.

http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/products/multivitamins/super_nuthera/s_nuthe

ra_hypo237.html

He doesn't have any tactile sensitivities that I know of. He is just

stubborn and doesn't want to try anything. The foods he eats are a

variety of different textures so I don't think that's it. I'm

thinking about hiring a nutritionist to make sure he is ok!

[Guest guest]

Could you sweeten other foods with a less harmful sugar substitute or honey? I knew a woman in WV whose son wouldn't eat anything but macaroni and cheese until he was 13; she tried various soft foods thinking that it was the texture. Then I suggested that she add cheese sauce to his vegetables and meats and now he eats everything, that was 4 yrs. ago.

Marilyn Pylesdannenedrummond <dannenedrummond@...> wrote:

Should I give up? Is this a hopeless cause? My son won't eat anything! I am giving him supplements at least but he seriously doesn't want to eat anything that doesn't have sugar in it. Any advice for a very picky eater?? Should I force food in his mouth? He won't try anything at all.

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

How do you get the supplements in? Does he have any pain with chewing or swallowing?

Marilyndannenedrummond <dannenedrummond@...> wrote:

Should I give up? Is this a hopeless cause? My son won't eat anything! I am giving him supplements at least but he seriously doesn't want to eat anything that doesn't have sugar in it. Any advice for a very picky eater?? Should I force food in his mouth? He won't try anything at all.

for Good Click here to donate to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

[Guest guest]

The problem is he won't eat anything that doesn't look familiar to

him. Like if the chicken nugget isn't the exact same brand he won't

eat it. Trying to introduce anything new is impossible. He won't

even consider it! At his school they force him to take a bite. It's

frustrating because sometimes I know he'll love it!

[Guest guest]

The problem is he won't eat anything that doesn't look familiar to

him. Like if the chicken nugget isn't the exact same brand he won't

eat it. Trying to introduce anything new is impossible. He won't

even consider it! At his school they force him to take a bite. It's

frustrating because sometimes I know he'll love it!

[Guest guest]

I put the supplement (which is in powdered form and orange flavored)

in his orange juice

[Guest guest]

I put the supplement (which is in powdered form and orange flavored)

in his orange juice

[Guest guest]

HI ,

I have a few comments that I have woven into the text below. But

before you read any of them - What a GREAT Mom you are! Always

follow that gut instinct.

Onward...

>

My almost three year old will only eat pureed baby food and

> crackers and the occasional bite of pizza or bread. A new

therapist came to

> our house and told me that she thinks he is " buffaloing me " and

that I

> should just not feed him until he eats what I put out and that he

would not

> die to not eat for a day.

Ok, it's true he won't die for a day, but this " strong arm " approach

is not good for either of you. What if he learns that maybe he

doesn't eat today but he will tomorrow? How is he supposed to trust

that he WILL be provided with food/sustainence? Are we sure he can

chew the food or doesn't have a texture/sensory issue? Feeding is

rarely as simple as " eat the next texture or you don't eat at all. "

As much as possible you want him to explore foods in a joyful way.

But you have more going on and he has more to learn than most kids,

with or without Down syndrome. continue on...

I really do not think it is ME. He still has a

> G-tube and gets all liquids through it, though he has been okay'd

for them.

Here is the crux of the issue. How long has he been eating food and

not getting any nutrition through the G-Tube? It takes a long time

to re-learn how to eat. Did anyone refer you to a feeding team at

the children's hospital or something? Your son deserves a person

skilled in *teaching feeding.* My guess is that there are some jaw

strength, chewing development, and texture issues that your son is

dealing with. This learning to eat is a full time job for him. And

you!

> He takes the occasional sip of water. Someone on here wrote me

about this

> SLP program and I looked up their products and just one book was

$70.

> Yikes! Any library-available books that folks know for eating

issues?

The issue for you is that you're dealing with bunches more right

now. Although my book has a very nice section on understanding the

textures and the chewing mechamism used for them that you might find

helpful, it doesn't go into detail about relearing how to eat after

a G-Tube. I will look around.

TAke care,

Joan

www.downsyndromenutrition.com

[Guest guest]

Note: forwarded message attached.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

This post is about my 5 year old who does not have apraxia but I thought you all

may have some insight.

He eats a variety of foods with no problems. Crunchy, smooth, mashed, etc. He

doesn't avoid any certain texture. He does not like his food mixed like in a

casserole.

Tonight I made shepherd's pie. He has eaten it before but tonight he did not

want any. I picked out a nice chunk of ground beef and wiped all the offensive

other parts and pieces off of it so that it was a plain piece of ground beef. I

put it in his mouth and he immediately gagged. He eats ground beef ALL THE

TIME! It had no bits of vegetable on it whatsoever. He worked it up in his

head that it was bad and it made him gag. What is this??? Is it a texture

issue? Sensory issue? Could some kind of OT help with this? I asked his

speech therapist about it but apparently he's not severe enough to warrant any

help from the school.

His aversions are completely random and can even change from time to time. The

one consistent thing is that he doesn't like casseroles or mixed up foods.

Especially if they include meat. But he will eat meat by itself.

This issue has been driving me crazy and I don't know what to do anymore. He's

super skinny and needs to gain weight but he just doesn't eat enough of what he

needs to eat in order to do that. We eat extremely healthy at home and he very

rarely has sugar or junk food.

Sometimes I get mad but I try so hard not to make a big deal out of it because I

know that can make food issues worse. So what is a reasonable solution? I

can't force him to eat something that makes him gag. Do I keep giving it to him

until he tries it? Like for breakfast the next day? I don't want to be mean!

But I'm so tired of this.

Any advice??

Christy

[Guest guest]

Christy when you say you put it in his mouth -doesn't he feed himself at 5? Was

he refusing to eat it on his own? When was the last time he ate the shepherd's

pie? It's possible his taste is changing? Then again you say he doesn't like

casseroles and shepherd's pie -well some consider it a sort of casserole. It's

also possible that when you put the ground beef in his mouth you caused the gag

reflex. It's also possible he decided he didn't want to eat the shepherd's pie

for whatever reason -and you wiping off the other stuff from it didn't make it

any more appealing- perhaps made it less so? (I know for me watching someone

wipe off food I'm supposed to eat would be yuck to me)

Kids -thing about them is that there are ways to trick them into eating what we

know they need- I don't think forcing works. And many doctors will tell you

that your son won't starve no matter how thin he is. My husband doesn't like

casseroles (or shepherd's pie) either -but he eats 3 meals a day just fine.

Outside of simple strategies that you could find probably on any " ways to get

your child to eat his carrots " type website -doesn't sound like anything out of

the ordinary.

Here's some articles for " normal " kids who won't eat this or that

http://www.parentkidsright.com/pt-wonteatveges.html

http://www.vegfamily.com/editor/1004b.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/childrens-health/HQ01107

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/parenting_tips/picky_eaters.html

(etc. much more out there)

Everyone here assumes it's sensory issues -and perhaps it sometimes is. But

being we deal with children in this group and being a picky eater in a toddler

is normal -let's not always jump that every picky eater needs some sort of

therapy. Probably just like every other picky eater toddler out there he just

needs some tricks and strategies.

Gagging when your child eats if he gags when he feeds himself -that is a serious

problem and does need therapy immediately. But if he only gagged because you

(in some way) forced him to eat something he didn't want to -I suggest you just

read the links and some of the strategies in the archives below as well.

Re: HELP SONS APPETITE..has sensory problems too and horrible appetite

There are many reasons for a child being a picky eater ranging

from " just picky " to a child that has a eating or feeding disorder

due to sensory, weakness, motor planning or other problems. My son Dakota

for example had feeding problems from infancy due to crushed facial

nerves and other traumatic injuries from birth injuries and he was in therapy

from 3 weeks old overseen by a neurologist from birth. His problem was not

limited to eating -he had trouble with breathing at times too and

would just stop -and yes it was a nightmare and scary and everything

else you can think of. Dakota today is a good eater I have to say -

but again he had early intervention to help him overcome all the

gagging and other problems. Tanner who has sensory integration

dysfunction on the other hand never had a problem with eating or

feeding -his DSI is in other areas. So not all children with DSI

have it affecting all senses in all areas of the body. And are you

sure it's sensory anyway?

I went to school with this girl Jane Tullman who is probably

the best gymnast you would ever see outside of the Olympics -she was

supposed to try out for the Olympics actually back then. She was

the type of person who could be standing there talking to you and

then just do a back flip to stretch and so graceful you would think

she just spinned around. Anyway -her mom was an RN and yet

Jane 'only' would eat junk food for lunch -and never would eat

anything she didn't like the smell of. She never ate any vegetables

or anything. She ate lots of Twinkies and stuff like that. She was

a thin pretty girl when I knew her in HS -and again when I saw her

at a class reunion. For years she worked as a show girl doing

gymnastics in the Islands someplace until she got married.

Jane as far as I know doesn't have sensory issues and definitely

didn't have autism or any type of speech impairment -she was just a

very picky eater.

Here are some sites that may help

http://www.fsci.umn.edu/nutrinet/December%202003/what_can_one_do_for_2.htm

http://www.kidseatgreat.com/peater.html

http://www.hpb.gov.sg/hpb/chi/chi01.asp

http://betterkidcare.psu.edu/AngelUnits/OneHour/Eating/EatingLesson.html

http://www.parentcenter.com/community/ppt/tips/health/foodNutrition/picky2-4/

my boy's webpages

http://www.cherab.org/information/familiesrelate/letter.html

http://www.cherab.org/information/familiesrelate/workandfamily.html

The following are a bunch of messages I quickly pulled from the

archives. It just can't be healthy to let your child eat only the

same food all the time, especially junk food -but then again -can't

say Jane ever looked or acted unhealthy to me. Hope some of

the following tricks here or elsewhere help!

From: uzmashah@...

Date: Fri Apr 4, 2003 2:50 pm

Subject: Re: [ ] Diet Questions

Hi there,

My now three and half year old was also a picky eater, had to endure

surgery

on his mouth at three and ten months of age, and I was always

concerned about

his weight. Pureeing food certainly helped as did pediasure. I also

tried

to puree high calorie fruits such as mangoes and avocados (mono

unsat. fat I

believe). Adding wheat germ to yogurt along with fresh pureed fruit

also

worked nicely. Sometimes, I would add instant non fat powdered milk

for an

extra protein kick. It was very easy to add into oatmeal, farina,

milk

shakes and certain milk or cheese based sauces. The soft biter

biscuits were

also great because they melted in his mouth (and over is hands, face,

clothes!). Good luck!

Uzma

From: " danischrimpe " <danischrimpe@...>

Date: Sun Jun 23, 2002 9:58 pm

Subject: Re: on-line cook book for beyond picky eaters

Hi Again,

My best trick for sneaking in veggies involves the use of my ever

priceless

Braun hand blender (you know, the one that's long and skinny). I can

hide

veggies in just about anything. My husband definitely could have

benefitted from

some serious OT as a kid for his aversion to " chunky in his smooth "

and " smooth

in his chunky " (yes, this coming from a 35 year old man! LOL!). The

mere sight

of a pepper of any color will make him gag and forget a piece of

tomato being

found in sauce... a breakdowm would occur! Anyway, I puree'

EVERYTHING to get

rid of lumps. I can hide mushrooms, peppers, basil and even Italian

sausage in

my sauce with the hand blender. It's all smooth and the taste is

blended evenly

throughout. When it comes to soup it works even better. He does like

the veggies

in the soup but I noticed at the bottom of his bowl, and my son's

too, there

would alway be stray celery, carrots and what ever else that grows

naturally

from the Earth. They would never finish it all. When the soup is

done cooking,

let's say chicken soup for instance, I take out about 1/3 to 1/2 of

the veggies

with some broth and blend them together then add the mixture back

into the pot

with the rest of the soup. It gives the broth a great taste and

thickens it a

bit, too. The thickening came in handy for my youngest who had

severe reflux, as

well, and wasn't allowed thin liquids until 18 months.

Well, I'm no Child but it works for us. I'm sure some of you

could even

take these ideas bit further with other foods.

Good Luck,

~Dani~

" Burt " <bhollywood333@h...> wrote:

> have any good ideas regarding fruits and veggies. Would love to

swap

> sensory defensive pleasing recipes!!!

From: " vocalys " <lauraruiz@...>

Date: Sat Feb 16, 2002 3:38 pm

Subject: picky eater too...

Hi there,

I was just looking around at some of the past posts. I had no idea

that my sons picky eating could be related to his late/non-existant

speech. He also does this weird thing often when we try and feed

him - he does this gagging reflex stuff which just has frustrated us

to no end. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where he'd

picked up a habit like that. Neither daddy nor I ever gag, and he's

at home all the time so I know he hasn't been around someone else who

gags a lot or anything. I figured it was behavioral.

It's been like pulling teeth to get him to eat anything nutritious.

We'd all but given up. He loves his milk, rarely wants anything

else, but obviously we can't give him nothing but milk or he could

become severely anemic. We've gotten him to start drinking some

juice and water, but there's not much actual foods we can get him to

eat other than some pastas, cheerios & chips.

Anyway, I'm almost relieved to be finding out what the problem is.

From: mndvock@...

Date: Sun Feb 17, 2002 12:45 pm

Subject: Re: picky eater too...

My son turned five last October. He is developmentally

dellayed/speech

delayed with sensory issues. He is also a very picky eater - minimal

meat,

no vegetables (except fries), and no fruit. He gets by on yogurt,

rice,

chicken nuggets, fries, and some snacks. However, a year ago I

started

juicing for him. I juice two carrots and one apple and add another

fruit -

depending on what's available (apricots, peaches, cranberries, etc).

I try

to do all organic (easy with the apples and carrots) but that's not

always

the case. He knows there are carrots in the juice (he helps juice

them) but

no amount of pleading or bribery could ever get him to eat a carrot.

He is

starting to try new foods, but improvement is very slow. With the

juice at

least I feel like he's getting some good substances in him. We've

also seen

an improvement in his immune system by the decrease in number and

severity of

colds he's gotten this winter (two small ones compared to seven

nasty ones

last winter).

Also, before he had enough foods that he would eat, we also gave him

a

protein bar each day (started off with peanut butter cliff bars but

when he

refused those we went to chocolate balance bars).

just my two cents-

From: " kcholt11 " <kcholt11@...>

Date: Mon Feb 18, 2002 12:54 pm

Subject: picky eating/gagging

,

No, it is NOT behavioral.....it is part of whatever is going on in

these kids'

little bodies. My son, even as he got older, especially

when under more stress or pressure than normal would not only gag on

the food

but also throw up! He was embarrased by it but

would never show other signs of being " sick " .

One food that worked well with him was avocados, peeled and chopped

into small

pieces that he could work on picking up

himself......this was during high chair days and I have many

pictures of him

covered in green....what a mess! He won't eat them

now that he is six but he still loves the red kidney beans straight

out of the

can! I think it has to do with the consistency/texture of

them......the people at EI used to think it was so funny that I

would bring a

little thing of beans for him for snack but it got the

protein in! Hope this helps....try to avoid any power struggles

because of

course any naturally difficult thing can more easily

BECOME a behavioral or control issue. Carol

From: LuvMyHubNKids@...

Date: Fri Jan 18, 2002 7:53 pm

Subject: ? for Lori Roth

Hi Lori,

Carolyn suggested I email you.

My 2 year old has sensory issues and I need information on food

therapy.

She is very picky with textures and does not eat much at all. She

loves

bread, crackers, salty food......she just started accepting oatmeal

and

corn...she didn't used to like those textures. She wont eat any

meat...just

chews it, then spits it out. She only weighs 20 pounds and just

turned 2.

I don't know if you saw my previous post, titled New Here, but it

describes

her problems with talking and I was recently told she may have

apraxia of

speech. She has been working with a speech therapist since Sept. 01

and her

words have gone from 2 to 17 (however not used on a daily basis, and

not when

cued to say them, more spontaneous).

Any help or information you could give me would be much appreciated.

I would

love to wake up her little mouth and have her eating and saying more

words!

Thanks!

Karla

SAHM to

Jackie, , Jenna and Kamryn

Visit the kids sites:

<A HREF= " http://jackierenee88.homestead.com/Jackie1.html " >Jackie</A>

<A

HREF= " http://jackierenee88.homestead.com/1.html " ></A> <A

HREF= " http://jacjoejensplace.homestead.com/JennasPage.html " >Jenna</A>

<A

HREF= " http://jacjoejensplace.homestead.com/NewBaby.html " >Kamryn</A>

From: " " <@...>

Date: Wed Sep 19, 2001 6:54 am

Subject: Re: [ ] feeding issues-frustrated

Hi -

Your story sounds very familiar to mine. It sounds like your son

very well may

have global Dyspraxia. That means limb dyspraxia, oral dyspraxia,

verbal

dyspraxia, and as you already know, ocular dyspraxia. (Dyspraxia and

Apraxia

are interchangeable words in this case). Children that have limb

dyspraxia are

described as very clumsy. The brain is sending messages to the

limbs, but not

all the messages are getting through. These children usually need

Physical

Therapy for gross motor skills (jumping, riding bikes, etc.) and

Occupational

Therapy for Fine motor skills (writing, buttoning, zipping, etc.)

Oral

dyspraxia has to do with the mouth. The muscles are physically fine

with the

mouth, but when the brain sends messages to the mouth they are not

received.

These children need oral motor excercises. Characteristics for these

children

are low tone in the face, unable to pucker, unable to move tongue

around, unable

to lick lips, unable to blow, usually have drinking issues (these

are just

examples, not all children with oral apraxia have these.)

A GREAT book for you to read is The Out-Of Sync Child - it explains

about

Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Your son definelty seems to have the

symptoms. You can read more about Sensory Integration Dysfunction on

my

website at www.verbalDyspraxia.com or another great site is

www.sinetwork.org.

Many, Many children with Dyspraxia have Sensory issues so I like to

refer to it

as a " symptom. " In general it is an immature central nervous system

which

effects so many areas of these children's lives. My son has sensory

issues but

is doing much better since I found out about it and have been

helping him with

it (my son is 4 now, but diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia at 2 1/2)

He also

craves sensory input, but is easily freaked out by other things. He

REFUSED to

walk on grass until recently and still does not like ANYTHING new.

NO suprises

- we have to prepare him for everything in advanced, even going out

to eat or if

someone is coming to visit for the day.

My son also had feeding issues. He was a failure to thrive baby and

had a hard

time sucking. We too had to try all different types of nipples

before we found

one he would tolerate. It was a hard transition to a sippy cup and

now we are

having a hard time getting him to a big boy cup. He would not get

his hands

dirty so would not feed himself finger foods. He gagged easily and

we had to

cut EVERYTHING into very small pieces. He never put toys or fingers

into his

mouth either, and also didn't seem to know how to chew his food

(this is a

symptom of oral apraxia). My son was finally diagnosed at 3 years

old with

esophageal refux, but that didn't have anything to do with his

inablility to eat

solids. It was all sensory. He still is very picky about what he

will put

into his mouth, no noodles of any kind, nothing chewy (except gummy

worms!) but

we worked up to that. We have worked very hard with him and I am

happy to say

he is doing wonderful with food. he doesn't have a large variety of

foods he

will eat, but that is okay, at least he is eating. He is also tall

and used to

be EXTEMELY SKINNY - i would also get the disapproving looks from

others. He

is still Skinny, but no longer a " skeleton. " We feed him a high fat

diet per

our pediatrician so mom is gaining weight too!!!!!

There are professionals out there that deal with feeding issues - it

sounds like

your son might be a good candidate for this. I do understand how

scary and

frustrating it is when child isn't eating, it seems as if you spend

all your

time trying to shove food down him so he doesn't waste away. We use

the reward

system in that we find something that he REALLY likes (such as m -n-

m's) and

after he takes a bite of food and swallows, he then gets an m -n- m.

It's a

good way to add more fat to his diet too!!! I still have to sit with

him when

he eats, and sometime still feed him in order for him to eat enough,

he would be

content to starve. When I go to people's houses I always get the

looks like

" he's 4, why is she helping to feed him??? She is WAY to

overprotective. "

What these people don't understand is that not eating is not an

option for him,

he is so thin that I worry.......Well, you know.

I wanted to write this so you know you are not alone, and others do

understand

your pain and your feelings. I do think it is time for you to find

someone who

can help him, and you. A feeding specialist is a great place to

start, an

occupational therapy (or at least have him evaluated someplace that

is familiar

with Sensory Integration Dysfunction) and also have him evaluated

for Verbal

Dyspraxia by a Speech Therapist. A Developmental Pediatrician

probably will be

able to get you names of good places, and that would be someone who

can look at

your son as a WHOLE person and help you figure out what he needs

right now.

You are a wonderful mother in that you are researching and looking

for help -

YOU know your son better than ANYONE so trust your instincts and

follow your

heart. If you need any other advice or support, please let me know

as I will

help in anyway I can....

Where in Texas are you?? I know others in Texas and can get you

connected!!

Carnell

North Carolina www.verbaldyspraxia.com

CHERAB Outreach Coordinator

Re: constipation

I agree with and Carolyn about increasing veggies, fruits and

water

with or without ProEFA. Here are some tips from a previous post for

those

who have trouble getting the vegetables into their child.

As a professional (SLP Oral Motor/Verbal Apraxia Specialist) and the

parent of a

once picky eater..here are some hints for increasing nutritional

balance to

limited diets. If your child likes pasta..make your own sauce or add

to the

jarred kind the puree of healthy vegetables. Steam the vegetables

first in only

a little water..then add the water and veg. to blender to puree. Mix

veg.

liquid into sauce..boost spiciness of the sauce just a little with

hot sauce if

you think you child will tolerate it. BUT REMEMBER..start adding a

little of the

new veg. liquid at a time- say 2-4 TBSP to the 1 cup sauce. Blend

and taste.

Adjust salt/flavoring to taste. You can use spinach, carrots, even

broccoli.

Add nuts ground, or wheat germ boxedxed bread mixes to add fiber to

diet. Or

add wheat germ to his pancakes or hot cereal if he'll eat it. Maple

syrup

used disguise lots of tastes.

Sometimes having the kids help cook a meal or portion of the meal

makes it

more fun to eat. I even went so far as to use cookie cutters on bone-

less

chicken breasts and breaded (wheat germ + crumbs), baked and played

circus with

the animals...eating legs or head to get good food into .

Take heart..Jon's almost 21 and eats almost everything..including

Sushi,

salad, and something other than chicken.

Hope these ideas help.

Lori Roth, MA, CCC-SLP

=====

[Guest guest]

He does feed himself. I just happened to feed him that bite. He doesn't always

gag on things, it seems like it's just the stuff he's decided that he won't

like.

Thanks for the links, I will be checking them out. I already trick my kids into

eating so many things. It's just getting tiresome. And I want to make sure it's

not a sensory thing going on that needs therapy. Your post makes me think that

he's probably just fine, I just need to do some tweaking.

Thank you very much!

Christy

> > have any good ideas regarding fruits and veggies. Would love to

> swap

> > sensory defensive pleasing recipes!!!

>

> From: " vocalys " <lauraruiz@...>

> Date: Sat Feb 16, 2002 3:38 pm

> Subject: picky eater too...

>

>

>

> Hi there,

> I was just looking around at some of the past posts. I had no idea

> that my sons picky eating could be related to his late/non-existant

> speech. He also does this weird thing often when we try and feed

> him - he does this gagging reflex stuff which just has frustrated us

> to no end. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where he'd

> picked up a habit like that. Neither daddy nor I ever gag, and he's

> at home all the time so I know he hasn't been around someone else who

> gags a lot or anything. I figured it was behavioral.

>

> It's been like pulling teeth to get him to eat anything nutritious.

> We'd all but given up. He loves his milk, rarely wants anything

> else, but obviously we can't give him nothing but milk or he could

> become severely anemic. We've gotten him to start drinking some

> juice and water, but there's not much actual foods we can get him to

> eat other than some pastas, cheerios & chips.

>

> Anyway, I'm almost relieved to be finding out what the problem is.

>

>

>

> From: mndvock@...

> Date: Sun Feb 17, 2002 12:45 pm

> Subject: Re: picky eater too...

>

>

> My son turned five last October. He is developmentally

> dellayed/speech

> delayed with sensory issues. He is also a very picky eater - minimal

> meat,

> no vegetables (except fries), and no fruit. He gets by on yogurt,

> rice,

> chicken nuggets, fries, and some snacks. However, a year ago I

> started

> juicing for him. I juice two carrots and one apple and add another

> fruit -

> depending on what's available (apricots, peaches, cranberries, etc).

> I try

> to do all organic (easy with the apples and carrots) but that's not

> always

> the case. He knows there are carrots in the juice (he helps juice

> them) but

> no amount of pleading or bribery could ever get him to eat a carrot.

> He is

> starting to try new foods, but improvement is very slow. With the

> juice at

> least I feel like he's getting some good substances in him. We've

> also seen

> an improvement in his immune system by the decrease in number and

> severity of

> colds he's gotten this winter (two small ones compared to seven

> nasty ones

> last winter).

>

> Also, before he had enough foods that he would eat, we also gave him

> a

> protein bar each day (started off with peanut butter cliff bars but

> when he

> refused those we went to chocolate balance bars).

>

> just my two cents-

>

>

>

> From: " kcholt11 " <kcholt11@...>

> Date: Mon Feb 18, 2002 12:54 pm

> Subject: picky eating/gagging

>

>

>

> ,

> No, it is NOT behavioral.....it is part of whatever is going on in

> these kids'

> little bodies. My son, even as he got older, especially

> when under more stress or pressure than normal would not only gag on

> the food

> but also throw up! He was embarrased by it but

> would never show other signs of being " sick " .

> One food that worked well with him was avocados, peeled and chopped

> into small

> pieces that he could work on picking up

> himself......this was during high chair days and I have many

> pictures of him

> covered in green....what a mess! He won't eat them

> now that he is six but he still loves the red kidney beans straight

> out of the

> can! I think it has to do with the consistency/texture of

> them......the people at EI used to think it was so funny that I

> would bring a

> little thing of beans for him for snack but it got the

> protein in! Hope this helps....try to avoid any power struggles

> because of

> course any naturally difficult thing can more easily

> BECOME a behavioral or control issue. Carol

>

> From: LuvMyHubNKids@...

> Date: Fri Jan 18, 2002 7:53 pm

> Subject: ? for Lori Roth

>

>

>

> Hi Lori,

> Carolyn suggested I email you.

> My 2 year old has sensory issues and I need information on food

> therapy.

> She is very picky with textures and does not eat much at all. She

> loves

> bread, crackers, salty food......she just started accepting oatmeal

> and

> corn...she didn't used to like those textures. She wont eat any

> meat...just

> chews it, then spits it out. She only weighs 20 pounds and just

> turned 2.

> I don't know if you saw my previous post, titled New Here, but it

> describes

> her problems with talking and I was recently told she may have

> apraxia of

> speech. She has been working with a speech therapist since Sept. 01

> and her

> words have gone from 2 to 17 (however not used on a daily basis, and

> not when

> cued to say them, more spontaneous).

> Any help or information you could give me would be much appreciated.

> I would

> love to wake up her little mouth and have her eating and saying more

> words!

> Thanks!

> Karla

> SAHM to

> Jackie, , Jenna and Kamryn

> Visit the kids sites:

> <A HREF= " http://jackierenee88.homestead.com/Jackie1.html " >Jackie</A>

> <A

> HREF= " http://jackierenee88.homestead.com/1.html " ></A> <A

> HREF= " http://jacjoejensplace.homestead.com/JennasPage.html " >Jenna</A>

> <A

> HREF= " http://jacjoejensplace.homestead.com/NewBaby.html " >Kamryn</A>

>

> From: " " <@...>

> Date: Wed Sep 19, 2001 6:54 am

> Subject: Re: [ ] feeding issues-frustrated

>

>

>

> Hi -

>

> Your story sounds very familiar to mine. It sounds like your son

> very well may

> have global Dyspraxia. That means limb dyspraxia, oral dyspraxia,

> verbal

> dyspraxia, and as you already know, ocular dyspraxia. (Dyspraxia and

> Apraxia

> are interchangeable words in this case). Children that have limb

> dyspraxia are

> described as very clumsy. The brain is sending messages to the

> limbs, but not

> all the messages are getting through. These children usually need

> Physical

> Therapy for gross motor skills (jumping, riding bikes, etc.) and

> Occupational

> Therapy for Fine motor skills (writing, buttoning, zipping, etc.)

> Oral

> dyspraxia has to do with the mouth. The muscles are physically fine

> with the

> mouth, but when the brain sends messages to the mouth they are not

> received.

> These children need oral motor excercises. Characteristics for these

> children

> are low tone in the face, unable to pucker, unable to move tongue

> around, unable

> to lick lips, unable to blow, usually have drinking issues (these

> are just

> examples, not all children with oral apraxia have these.)

>

>

> A GREAT book for you to read is The Out-Of Sync Child - it explains

> about

> Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Your son definelty seems to have the

> symptoms. You can read more about Sensory Integration Dysfunction on

> my

> website at www.verbalDyspraxia.com or another great site is

> www.sinetwork.org.

> Many, Many children with Dyspraxia have Sensory issues so I like to

> refer to it

> as a " symptom. " In general it is an immature central nervous system

> which

> effects so many areas of these children's lives. My son has sensory

> issues but

> is doing much better since I found out about it and have been

> helping him with

> it (my son is 4 now, but diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia at 2 1/2)

> He also

> craves sensory input, but is easily freaked out by other things. He

> REFUSED to

> walk on grass until recently and still does not like ANYTHING new.

> NO suprises

> - we have to prepare him for everything in advanced, even going out

> to eat or if

> someone is coming to visit for the day.

>

>

> My son also had feeding issues. He was a failure to thrive baby and

> had a hard

> time sucking. We too had to try all different types of nipples

> before we found

> one he would tolerate. It was a hard transition to a sippy cup and

> now we are

> having a hard time getting him to a big boy cup. He would not get

> his hands

> dirty so would not feed himself finger foods. He gagged easily and

> we had to

> cut EVERYTHING into very small pieces. He never put toys or fingers

> into his

> mouth either, and also didn't seem to know how to chew his food

> (this is a

> symptom of oral apraxia). My son was finally diagnosed at 3 years

> old with

> esophageal refux, but that didn't have anything to do with his

> inablility to eat

> solids. It was all sensory. He still is very picky about what he

> will put

> into his mouth, no noodles of any kind, nothing chewy (except gummy

> worms!) but

> we worked up to that. We have worked very hard with him and I am

> happy to say

> he is doing wonderful with food. he doesn't have a large variety of

> foods he

> will eat, but that is okay, at least he is eating. He is also tall

> and used to

> be EXTEMELY SKINNY - i would also get the disapproving looks from

> others. He

> is still Skinny, but no longer a " skeleton. " We feed him a high fat

> diet per

> our pediatrician so mom is gaining weight too!!!!!

>

>

> There are professionals out there that deal with feeding issues - it

> sounds like

> your son might be a good candidate for this. I do understand how

> scary and

> frustrating it is when child isn't eating, it seems as if you spend

> all your

> time trying to shove food down him so he doesn't waste away. We use

> the reward

> system in that we find something that he REALLY likes (such as m -n-

> m's) and

> after he takes a bite of food and swallows, he then gets an m -n- m.

> It's a

> good way to add more fat to his diet too!!! I still have to sit with

> him when

> he eats, and sometime still feed him in order for him to eat enough,

> he would be

> content to starve. When I go to people's houses I always get the

> looks like

> " he's 4, why is she helping to feed him??? She is WAY to

> overprotective. "

> What these people don't understand is that not eating is not an

> option for him,

> he is so thin that I worry.......Well, you know.

>

>

> I wanted to write this so you know you are not alone, and others do

> understand

> your pain and your feelings. I do think it is time for you to find

> someone who

> can help him, and you. A feeding specialist is a great place to

> start, an

> occupational therapy (or at least have him evaluated someplace that

> is familiar

> with Sensory Integration Dysfunction) and also have him evaluated

> for Verbal

> Dyspraxia by a Speech Therapist. A Developmental Pediatrician

> probably will be

> able to get you names of good places, and that would be someone who

> can look at

> your son as a WHOLE person and help you figure out what he needs

> right now.

>

>

> You are a wonderful mother in that you are researching and looking

> for help -

> YOU know your son better than ANYONE so trust your instincts and

> follow your

> heart. If you need any other advice or support, please let me know

> as I will

> help in anyway I can....

>

>

> Where in Texas are you?? I know others in Texas and can get you

> connected!!

>

>

> Carnell

> North Carolina www.verbaldyspraxia.com

> CHERAB Outreach Coordinator

>

>

> Re: constipation

>

> I agree with and Carolyn about increasing veggies, fruits and

> water

> with or without ProEFA. Here are some tips from a previous post for

> those

> who have trouble getting the vegetables into their child.

>

> As a professional (SLP Oral Motor/Verbal Apraxia Specialist) and the

> parent of a

> once picky eater..here are some hints for increasing nutritional

> balance to

> limited diets. If your child likes pasta..make your own sauce or add

> to the

> jarred kind the puree of healthy vegetables. Steam the vegetables

> first in only

> a little water..then add the water and veg. to blender to puree. Mix

> veg.

> liquid into sauce..boost spiciness of the sauce just a little with

> hot sauce if

> you think you child will tolerate it. BUT REMEMBER..start adding a

> little of the

> new veg. liquid at a time- say 2-4 TBSP to the 1 cup sauce. Blend

> and taste.

> Adjust salt/flavoring to taste. You can use spinach, carrots, even

> broccoli.

>

> Add nuts ground, or wheat germ boxedxed bread mixes to add fiber to

> diet. Or

> add wheat germ to his pancakes or hot cereal if he'll eat it. Maple

> syrup

> used disguise lots of tastes.

>

> Sometimes having the kids help cook a meal or portion of the meal

> makes it

> more fun to eat. I even went so far as to use cookie cutters on bone-

> less

> chicken breasts and breaded (wheat germ + crumbs), baked and played

> circus with

> the animals...eating legs or head to get good food into .

>

> Take heart..Jon's almost 21 and eats almost everything..including

> Sushi,

> salad, and something other than chicken.

>

> Hope these ideas help.

>

> Lori Roth, MA, CCC-SLP

>

> =====

>