Beyond picky eating - PDD-NOS

[kthomson]

My almost 7 yo DD was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when she was about 4ish. She's an amazing, quirky, very intelligent kid who is doing very well in mainstream 1st grade. BUT her increasing restrictive eating is getting much worse. SHe's always been a picky eater and I know it really goes along with being on the spectrum. She never liked any typical "kid" foods like pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. - I didn't mind that at all - I was all for her just eating what she liked and she used to eat whole wheat pastas, some fruits and veggies, some meats, some milk, etc. Now, though, she is down to only eating milk and cereal or oatmeal for the grain portion of her meals. Every. night. She'll take 1 bite of a fruit (and only 2-3 kinds of those) and 1 bite of a veggie (and only 2-3 kinds of those too). And she just does that to get dessert. I always said I refuse to fight about food and I was happy just presenting her with mostly healthy foods and I was OK with what she was picking. She's always been in the 80-90% percentiles for height and weight and her ped has said she is healthy. She seems like she's getting so restrictive in what she'll eat now. Has anyone else dealt with this?

[sbgrace]

We do and always have. But my kid is closer to 5% so it's more stressful.
I wish he'd eat a significant amount of anything. Even "his foods" he doesn't eat much of. He likes starchy carbs. That's it. And even that he's picky. Dinner is always a struggle unless it's (rice flour) pancakes.
Oh, he will drink smoothies so I can get some fruit in him that way. He will also eat yogurt. Which is why we're no longer casein free. It's the one decent (and protein heavy) thing he's consistently eat.

[kme]

yes. My SPD son will not eat ANY fruits or vegetables. If I bring cooked vegetables to the table he will dry heave and gag or even vomit from the smell. SO...our family hardly ever eats cooked veggies anymore.
It is so frustrating! I hide fruits and veggies in breads and drinks as best I can but I KNOW he is not getting anywhere near what he should have.

[tinams8]

My 7.5 year old has Aspergers and SPD and he has always been a really bad eater. Lately he has been refusing more and more things and his diet is SO limited. ANd he argues like mad if I even suggest he taste something. It's unbelievably frustrating. He has been the same weight (50lbs) for close to two years. I give him Carnation Instant Breakfast and call it chocolate milk. Most of what he will eat is junk food. Meat, bread, rice, forget it. He is in occupational therapy already, so I asked his OT about feeding therapy and she is going to start working on it. I can't wait!!!

[mysweetboys]

I can definitely identify! My DS is 5 and at present has no formal diagnosis but definitely has sensory issues and anxiety. He had bad reflux as a baby and ate only small amounts until he was about 1, then ate fairly well until he was almost 2 with just a few sensitivities to taste and texture. It's been going steadily downhill since then, with his eating becoming significantly more restricted over the past year or so, and HUGELY restricted over the past few weeks. We have also been trying to simply provide a variety of healthy foods and not make an issue over food, but I am feeling like something needs to change soon. He is now eating such a limited variety of things it is crazy, and certain things he will only eat under certain circumstances (like at home but not at school, or only if packaged in a certain kind of container at school...), and foods ABSOLUTELY cannot touch. We can't even do the 1 bite thing, because he gags and sometimes vomits, and if something else is contingent on eating certain things it really doesn't change his willingness to eat it anyway. Smells also set him off big time. And in the past couple of weeks, following a bout of illness in our house, he will sometimes refuse to eat something because he perceives that there are germs on it. He is still a healthy weight (because when he does eat he eats enormous amounts), but everyone is concerned nonetheless (us, Ped, teacher, daycare). Soooo frustrating, especially now that it is so extreme we really can't figure out what is sensory based, what is anxiety based (obviously the germ part, but I suspect more of it may be anxiety based too), and what is a behavioral choice...

[mamarhu]

13 YO YoungSon has always been like this. He likes most meat (if it is served plain - no stew, casserole, or any other multiple ingredient dish), popcorn, chips, fries, and bananas. And fried bananas (platanos). Oh, I forgot, Reese's and Dr. Pepper. He will occassionally drink milk or juice. That is really and truly all. He is 13 years old, height and weight proportionate, as they say, and at least as healthy as the rest of us around here. We all got the swine flu, and he recovered first! He is 5'10" already, much taller than we would have predicted by genetics, no clue if he is done growing. My degree is in Health Education,and I have more training in nutrition, both mainstream and alternative approaches, than any three mothers need. On one level, I know this cannot be right. On the other hand, the proof is in the pudding, and this guy is doing fine.

He put himself on a clear liquid diet for 9 months one time, after a near choking incident, and even then (water, apple juice, and homemade strained broth only), he showed no health changes at all. Not even any cavities. I don't get it.

I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[MamaKath]

I can totally identify!!!! My (nt) kid is the super picky one; she has major aversions to textures, especially in food. I am finding I have to offer a few things that she'll eat at meals (especially supper) like quinoa, edemame, and dairy to get protein into her. Other times I offer shakes and hide stuff in them. I got a blender that can really blend until hidden so she gets all kinds of fruits and veggies (especially spinach) in a yummy chocolate shake. I make pancakes and add fruits/veggies from the blender in, add in wheat germ and ground flax, and add extra eggs. I worry more with the mainly starch diet that she will have weight issues as she reaches her teens, so we are trying to introduce new things now! For my sn kiddo, he is listening to her and "picking up" her pickiness. So frustrating!!!

[RiverTam]

My youngest (not on the spectrum) went through a phase where he would only eat white or yellow foods. If it wasn't white or yellow, he wouldn't eat. Our pediatrician said that we should give him a multi-vitamin and not worry about it. as long as he is growing and has no problems with the potty, Dr. M. said not to worry about it.

We kept trying to introduce new foods, though. (Even foods that were a different color!)

We read Dr. Sear's children's book on nutrition over and over. It talks about eating different foods and eating the rainbow, and it helped some.

[RiverTam]

The name of the books is "Eat Healthy, Feel Great"

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Feel-G...8045226&sr=1-4

[DocsNemesis]

My ds doesn't really fall under the same category (he's bipolar/ADHD) but he's an extremely picky eater as well. His needs change as time goes on and its kind of weird sometimes, seeing him go from hating something to only eating that one thing.

Oddly his thing right now is breakfast foods too. He wants toast, cereal, pop tarts, that's about it. I wish he'd at least want waffles or something, I could sneak some fruit onto that. Oh and eggnog. He REALLY likes eggnog.

He gets what he wants part of the day. Dinner is a non negotiable thing though. If I KNOW he hates what I'm making-like its spicy or something-then thats different. But usually we make things that he should like or has liked at one point. The deal is, if he wants dessert, he'll eat what we made. This is pretty much the only time I can get anything beyond breakfast foods or sweets in him.

Oh and he is in the 50th percentile for height/weight so he has less leeway.

[cocopop]

My 8 year old DD is PDD-NOS and is So picky! Always had been. She won't eat fruits or veggies and would exist on carbs and sweets if allowed. I am lucky if I can get her to eat applesauce (but it has to have cinnamon in it). She won't eat eggs or meat either and if I do find something halfway decent that she likes, she only likes it for a finite amount of time and then she moves on

ugh. I have started implementing a new dinner rule, you don't like what I make, you make yourself a sandwich or a bowl of cereal. I am not a short order cook.

Kim

[xeper]

Okay, is it distraction? Is your child glazed over and withdrawn or engaged with meal? Could it be an attempt at defiance (knowing you want to push the fruit + veg issue)? Are there any other patterns or behaviours you have noticed? (My son refused to eat his favourite meal for my Dad - he was cutting it into the wrong number of bites, and not offering them in the correct order ) Colours can be an issue, the smothering-in-white-sauce thing can help. Or whatever natural food colouring you need to add. Not so much for kids who don't like wet, cooked or jumbled up foods.
Textural/sensory issues can be difficult. You can't really disguise the taste/smell/texture of food. There are things you can do to stimulate the mouth, offering a celery stick or something with an interesting texture, make a game of chewing it all up (we try this outside of mealtimes, no pressure to actually eat). Seek OT.

My son Seth won't eat anything that needs a lot of chewing, I think it is a sensory issue. He's recently been dianosed on the Autism Spectrum (somewhere, they don't seem to be able to make up their minds). Had lots of breastfeeding problems for about the first 3 weeks of his life, threw up every feed (due to what should have been a small problem, a UTI). I think this has caused the sensory issues?

Anything like peas, corn, sultanas etc with a skin won't be chewed. I can sometimes get his to take 1 bite, but it stays in the sides of his mouth. Carrots I tried the other day and we had a minor win by getting him to eat ONE cooked carrot stick 1/4 width of my little finger. First time ever! But there were tears. Not worth time and trauma, so I won't do it again.
He eats choc custard, bananas, occasionally pastry things like sausage rolls or some toast, but we risk him keeping some in his mouth until he falls asleep and half chokes on it.

Just ask yourself if your child is healthy. If she is then stressing too much is just going to make it an issue when there doesn't have to be one. Keep mealtimes fun.

[karne]

My youngest, with some oral/food sensitvities has become super, super picky as of the past 6 mos. Gagging on tomatos, no onions-things that were great last month will no longer be eaten, etc. I am really struggling not to make this an issue, which means that it's starting to feel like an issue! Interestingly, his older sister likes to cook, and ds will eat almost anything she prepares.

[minkin03]

my 6 yo is extremely picky in a weird way. she actually prefers healthy foods. it's difficult to pack her lunch for school b/c she doesn't seem to like anything but celery sticks, carrot sticks, plain pasta, and cottage cheese. she doesn't like meat, cheese, mayo, etc.... she primarily eats veggies and fruit. getting protein in her is tough (thank goodness she likes the cottage cheese).

[meg-momto2]

my SPD kid is on a no soft food diet at the moment. we've also lost our last cooked veggie he would eat. he won't eat things like yogurt, applesauce, ice cream if it's to melted, soups, pasta and his cereal can't have milk in it. he will eat some raw veggies like carrot and spinach which i've thankful for. we did go through a phase around 3.5 where he would gag and throw up from foods he didn't like. that's was not fun.

i worry a lot about him because he is small for his age. he'll be six in a few weeks and weighs about 39lbs. we also have to deal with the blood sugar issues because he doesn't eat enough. that makes him more irritable then normal which makes his explosive behavior happen more often.

[LizL888]

Originally Posted by kthomson 

My almost 7 yo DD was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when she was about 4ish. She's an amazing, quirky, very intelligent kid who is doing very well in mainstream 1st grade. BUT her increasing restrictive eating is getting much worse. SHe's always been a picky eater and I know it really goes along with being on the spectrum. She never liked any typical "kid" foods like pizza, chicken nuggets, etc. - I didn't mind that at all - I was all for her just eating what she liked and she used to eat whole wheat pastas, some fruits and veggies, some meats, some milk, etc. Now, though, she is down to only eating milk and cereal or oatmeal for the grain portion of her meals. Every. night. She'll take 1 bite of a fruit (and only 2-3 kinds of those) and 1 bite of a veggie (and only 2-3 kinds of those too). And she just does that to get dessert. I always said I refuse to fight about food and I was happy just presenting her with mostly healthy foods and I was OK with what she was picking. She's always been in the 80-90% percentiles for height and weight and her ped has said she is healthy. She seems like she's getting so restrictive in what she'll eat now. Has anyone else dealt with this?

My 10 year old son has always been a picky eater - when he was a toddler he ate a bit more than he does now - but it is extremely limited.  For breakfast he'll eat a homemade waffle or a muligrain cereal and carnation instant breakfast with full fat milk.  For lunch he has either an almond butter or peanut butter sandwich.  This has been his lunch everyday for the past 7 years.  For dinner he has Ian's organic chicken nuggets - the only brand he will eat besides chicken nuggets at mcdonalds - which I despise.  That's it - no pizza, no pasta, other meats or eggs, no fruits or veggies.  He does like sweets - ice cream and certain cookies, but he's even picky about that.  Our pediatrician isn't concerned because he's growing fine and in the 75% of kids his age.  As a mother, I'm concerned about the refusal of fruits and vegetables.  We've tried to get him just to try new things but it is pure hell for everyone when we do.  Any one else have a similar situation?
 

[beachcomber]

Oddly enough, it's our NT dear son who is the picky eater. My daughter, on the Spectrum, eats a broad variety of foods. Sonny eats starch and things that go crunch or chocolate. That's IT. Heh.

[Mere]

It is so helpful to read other people's experiences!  Ds1 hasn't been officially diagnosed as special needs, but he definitely has anxiety and sensory issues that my other two dcs don't have.  He has always been a picky eater, and like many other pps, his food choices have gotten more limited as he has gotten older.  He eats: oatmeal, several kinds of raw vegetable (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, sugar snap peas), all fruits, several kinds of raw nuts, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bread, corn tortillas, and lots of dairy (yogurt, cheese, milk).  That's it. 

He loves most kinds of junk/processed foods, including hot dogs and chicken fingers, but I don't serve them or keep them around the house.  He only gets them when we are out, as a special treat.  Other than the hot dogs and chicken fingers, he's practically a raw foodist.  In our house, he has free access to all of the food listed above.  The only control I exert over his diet is ensuring that he gets one good protein with each meal, otherwise he'd live on fruit and toast. 

Amazingly, ds1 is the healthiest person I know.  The last time I remember his getting sick was when he was 3 (he's now 7); we're talking he doesn't even get colds.  Nothing.  His weight and height are good.  I have often wondered if certain foods (e.g., wheat, dairy or the treats we get outside the house) might be affecting his anxiety, sensory and other behavioral issues, but his diet is so restrictive already I can't imagine cutting anything else out.  I just have to hope that he will outgrow this?  It seems impossible, especially since the sensory issues seem to be so prohibitive. (E.g., A few times we've gotten him to simply put food into his mouth, with no pressure to swallow or even chew it, and he practically gags.) 

[HuntressMother]

My DD (just turned 6 in september)  is AS, SPD, OCD & ADHD and her ped is thinking possible ODD and we had ALOT of 'picky eating' issues with her. It would drive us nuts, esp. before we knew that she had underlying issues. Around the time she was almost 2, she began refusing to swallow certin foods. She would want to eat them, but would just chew them up and store them in her cheeks like a chipmunk..and be BEYOND angry if you asked her to swallow it/ spit it out. Then around the age of 3 she started seriouly limiting what types of foods she would eat. If you even suggested that she should try anything new, it would result in a huge tantrum and sometimes afterwards she would refuse to eat anything at all.  She spent 2 years eating nothing but mainly chicken nuggets, frys, noodles breads and yogurt- but luckily, she LOVES many fruits and veggies and though she loves junk food and would eat alot if allowed, she chooses fruits and veggies over them most of time.

Now she is 6 and loves to try new foods. Theyre still some foods that she will decided that she IS NOT going to try, just from that way it looks or its color or smell- but now she pretty adventrous.

Our issue has now turned to DS ( will be 3 in a few days ) who, for the past 4 months, has been showing some serious ODD and ADHD symptoms (many remind me of DD at that age and others are much worse ).  It is an ordeal to get him to eat ANYTHING except chips and junk food.  Sometimes he only eats one meal a day with a small snack before bed.  He will take a hour (and sometimes 2 ) to eat anything that is prepared for him most of the time. He loves pizza and mac ' cheese as well as noodles and chips- but other than that we doesnt want to try anything, and like DD will have a major tantrum if asked to try even a taste. We've even tried offering him a reward if he trys new foods-it doesnt work. We do have rules with this. He knows that he cant have chips as a snack unless he eats his 'real foods' first- sometimes he chooses to eat and get the reward, but most of the time he doesnt.

Mind you, im not sure if this is from any sensory issues or if its simply defiant behaviour. Hopefully, I will know that answer at his next appointment coming up very soon.

Best of luck to you Mama. Keep trying new things, get creative..and when that doesnt work-we just have to meet them in the middle.

[RiverTam]

We read "Eat Healthy, Feel Great" by Dr. Sears with my son and gave him a copy of it. It has guidelines/rules for eating and he works on following them now. It's a little rigid sometimes (He won't drink juice, only water or milk.) , but it's more in a healthy direction, so I'm okay with it.