food/eating issues, what's going on?

[faithsstuff]

My ds is 24 months, we're working with a local autism center and hope to have our 'official' testing this month.  He also has sensory issues and food/texture aversions.  A couple days ago he was eating a piece of apple and choked.  It was horrible, but I couldn't find anything in his mouth and eventaully he caughed up small bits of apple.  Nothing looked large enough for him to choke over. Pretty much since then he hasn't eaten any solid.  He won't even eat his favorites like cheese, or banana.  He will chew them up then spit them out.  He is completely on baby food- and only one brand is the consistancy he'll eat.  Usually I have to supplement his food with babyfood, but this is extreme.  I don't know what is happening, or what I should be doing.  Help, tips, anything? 

[KimPM]

My DS had similar issues starting from when we started trying solids.  At around 11 months of age, we had him evaluated by Early Intervention.  We were with that program for about a year with no success, so I called around everywhere to find a good private feeding therapist.  We found a great SLP that specialized in play-based feeding therapy, and she worked wonders.  DS has extreme texture aversion as well as oral motor issues.  DS still has texture issues, but if it wasn't for the feeding therapist he would not be eating solids at all.

For you I would recommend trying the EI as it's free.  Other people have had success with them - it all depends on who they send out.  Given his age, I'd give it only 4 months to see if you think there is any improvement at all.  If not, then start looking for private options.  The sooner he gets effective therapy, the better the outcome is likely to be.

On your own, you can also start researching SPD - sensory processing disorder and see if that fits.

Something to think about - does he seem to have any odd chewing motions when he does/was eating?  As in, is he still trying to do a suck-swallow instead of chewing?  Does the (attempted) chewing motion seem uncoordinated?  Does he have texture issues with his hands - like aversion to touching certain things (either food or non-food)?

Oh, and you might want to talk to your DS's doctor to check out if there might be any physical swallowing issues or aspiration that might be going on.  They might recommend a swallow study if they suspect anything abnormal.

[faithsstuff]

Kim- thanks for the good leads.  We're hooked up with EI but it looks like they want to tackle speach first.  Yes he does have texture aversions with his hands as well.  He's always been a strange eater, he doesn't seem to have the 'chewing' part down very well.  He also seems to have a general aversion to anything in his mouth that's not a solid.  He'd rather drink his nutrients all day long.  We have no doubt there is some level of SPD, the autism institute has confirmed that, but we don't get any services offered through them until the testing is done.  Again thank you for giving me some ideas.

[KimPM]

Wow, from what you've written he sounds so much like my DS.  I can't believe they want to do speech first and ignore the eating.  They should be doing both.  I have more to write, but no time right now.  I can send you some info via PM later.

--Kim
 

Originally Posted by faithsstuff 

Kim- thanks for the good leads.  We're hooked up with EI but it looks like they want to tackle speach first.  Yes he does have texture aversions with his hands as well.  He's always been a strange eater, he doesn't seem to have the 'chewing' part down very well.  He also seems to have a general aversion to anything in his mouth that's not a solid.  He'd rather drink his nutrients all day long.  We have no doubt there is some level of SPD, the autism institute has confirmed that, but we don't get any services offered through them until the testing is done.  Again thank you for giving me some ideas.

[twofourone]

I am also suprised that they will not adress anything but speech. We have an OT, PT, Speech, DHH, and ASD teachers on our team that adress sensory, speech, self help, developmental etc. They do not allways help in some areas, but they do try.

We have so many eating issues in our house. We picked our battles and have given up on forcing the eating of different foods but are working on diferent temps on food, eating with utensils (properly and not just holding them while eating with hands :),

One thing suggested by our OT since one of the boys was gagging and sputtering all the time was only one small peice at a time. Its a pain for me exspecially with two...but it did help. The other one is a texture and smell kid...we are at a standstill with him. He is a tough cookie to crack, he has eaten nothing but PB, nutella, milk, and bread for about a month. Somtimes he will not eat bread and just eats PB on a spoon. sigh but after 2 years he is finally taking a bath....You win some and you loose some

If you belive it is a problem, push the issue with your DR, the EI in charge of your case, your Autism screener, whomever will listen. Sometimes it is not what you know it is who you bug.

I can suggest tracking all that you can. Get some video of him eating not just the sutff he has a hard time with but the stuff he eats well. Track what stuff he has a problem with and note any patterns (dry, salty, sweet, wet, mushy, cruchy, hot, cold, sticky how it smells) This can help you with sensory issues and finding things to eat. Stuff that we normally don"t take into consideration.

Also look at the atmosphere...do they eat differently in different room or out to eat or at families house? It could be noises that appliances or lights make that you don"t notice that are unnerving to your child and he can"t focus on eating.  It could be to bright, to hot, to cold, to dark.  Maybe there is a candle in the room that is offensive to their extremem senses.

How bout time of day. is there a difference there?

Somtimes if you go in with all kinds of documentation they either get it, or they realize your not going to back down and order testing :) Also point out without proper nutrition and sleep they will have problems with focus and attenion which could make the efforts with speach therapy futile :)

Good luck!

[let the light in]

My son, who is now 15 had severe SPD issues at that age (good news: he's outgrown much of it!) I recall that he also didnt like to have solids in his mouth, would chew meat or chicken for the taste and spit it out, and choked a few times with me having to do Heimlich before he was diagnosed at age 5. One of the OT treatments prescribed involved pressing my thumb up into his upper palate several times a day (like kiddo's normally do when they suck their own thumb) Apparently this maneuver is very organizing and I recall that it helped some of the food issues. A small thing until you get more assessments, hope it helps.