Guest guest Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 My daughter (12) with an unusual eating ritual, is hovering close to needing hospitalization due to her low weight, and I cannot get her to eat more- pressuring makes her eat less. It is utterly emotionally draining day to day, meal to meal, moreso b/c I believe she would regress to someone unrecognizeable in a hospital environment (she was hospitalized for one night for testing and was like torture for her). If she does get hospitalized longer term it would be at a hospital that handles child/adolescent psychiatric care nearly 3 hours away (and I have 4 younger and one older kids to deal with). I'm trying to get her to change the ritual through CBT under direction of a child/adolsecent OCD expert. nancy > > I was talking with a friend of a beautiful daughter with autism who is > about 8 yrs old. We were talking about food issues and how her ped and > all her daughter's specialists insist she force her daughter to eat. > I've heard the same song and dance for years with Allie Kat who, at 5 > 1/2 yrs only eats about 5 foods, up from 6 mos of chips/fries ONLY. We > were discussing the " you gotta make them eat " vs the " it's only gonna > make it worse to force " approach. Her daughter has significant odor > issues and vomits frequently with various food odors. We likened it to > imagining our worst odor(for me dead rat is the WORST odor) and being > forced to sit and eat with the smell of it right under our noses. We > also discussed the touch it/kiss it/lick it/bite it/swallow it > approach to getting our kids to try new foods. > > Just wondering what the thoughts of those of you who struggle with it > are. I personally refuse to force feed Allie because I feel it does > nothing but makes her more defensive about food and does not help her > want to eat anything more. Still, I hear parents of other kids with > autism saying, " You have to make her eat. " Anyone have any better way > of dealing with it? Also, anyone know of " smell therapy " out there? > > Debi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 My daughter (12) with an unusual eating ritual, is hovering close to needing hospitalization due to her low weight, and I cannot get her to eat more- pressuring makes her eat less. It is utterly emotionally draining day to day, meal to meal, moreso b/c I believe she would regress to someone unrecognizeable in a hospital environment (she was hospitalized for one night for testing and was like torture for her). If she does get hospitalized longer term it would be at a hospital that handles child/adolescent psychiatric care nearly 3 hours away (and I have 4 younger and one older kids to deal with). I'm trying to get her to change the ritual through CBT under direction of a child/adolsecent OCD expert. nancy > > I was talking with a friend of a beautiful daughter with autism who is > about 8 yrs old. We were talking about food issues and how her ped and > all her daughter's specialists insist she force her daughter to eat. > I've heard the same song and dance for years with Allie Kat who, at 5 > 1/2 yrs only eats about 5 foods, up from 6 mos of chips/fries ONLY. We > were discussing the " you gotta make them eat " vs the " it's only gonna > make it worse to force " approach. Her daughter has significant odor > issues and vomits frequently with various food odors. We likened it to > imagining our worst odor(for me dead rat is the WORST odor) and being > forced to sit and eat with the smell of it right under our noses. We > also discussed the touch it/kiss it/lick it/bite it/swallow it > approach to getting our kids to try new foods. > > Just wondering what the thoughts of those of you who struggle with it > are. I personally refuse to force feed Allie because I feel it does > nothing but makes her more defensive about food and does not help her > want to eat anything more. Still, I hear parents of other kids with > autism saying, " You have to make her eat. " Anyone have any better way > of dealing with it? Also, anyone know of " smell therapy " out there? > > Debi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Im totally against force feeding. All it ever got around here was thrown food and black eyes. Kassi Ot to be to get sick everywhere and maked me avoid even more interactions that had anythings to do with food. So things like birthdays, picnics, and such things as this would not be a severe issues to avoidance due to the social expectaion to have to eat. Sondra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Im totally against force feeding. All it ever got around here was thrown food and black eyes. Kassi Ot to be to get sick everywhere and maked me avoid even more interactions that had anythings to do with food. So things like birthdays, picnics, and such things as this would not be a severe issues to avoidance due to the social expectaion to have to eat. Sondra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Debbie when food is hot or warm it sends off more odor at times due to the hot steam coming off so let it to be of room temperature to reduce some of the smell. And like Kassi to say exposure to it is of always better than to force it. Such as you want her to try carrot sticks and her food choices already shows she likes of crispy crunchie things thin leaving carrot stixs out for snack at her eye level and reach. Do not place any expectations to it but you and others snack at it as if it is of much good but in casual ways not to trigger an expectations to it. Do this with many foods and allow her freedom to try of it. At meal time place one teaspoon of 1-2 new foods to her not to you family as new, and only 1 teaspoon of a very small amount of her favorite food. then eat as you much do always and make sure her favorite food is not setting on the table in her view or sight for dinner itself wait and to see what her reaction is when she eats of her food and then is left with two foods she is new too. A divider plate is good for this in the begin because you not want any food to run into the foods she likes. Do not place any expectations for her to eat or try of the food as it is only there for exposure to it. Try it with similar food choices she already consumes. If she likes of FF she might like of fried potatoes for example. YOu do not want to start with very strong smelled foods or very strong in color or textures to cause of her to be to feel overwhelmed. So if you want her to begin of to like spagetti, then only offer a small spoon of spaghetti with no sauce so she can get use to the sight and texture, if she tends to explore and it and it becomes one of her choices you can add 1/2 tsp of sauce and stir it in slowly increasing to a level she will accept. Do things gradual if she is real defensive which it to sounds like she is. Also is you child one who seeks inputs to sensory that is of deep pressures, want of things like this, do she to crave things orally that give strong imputs then she might be hypo sensitive and needs more strong inputs to have a sense of it. If she is hyper she may crave very soft , bland foods and be very tactile orally. Sondra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 I've always been a picky eater, and I have major issues with strong flavors (ONIONS-YUCK!) and textures (slimy foods and gristle in meat- GAG GAG GAG!!!) I think that FORCING a child to eat is asking for emotional problems and eating disorders. It's cruel and abusive. If I couldn't spit out a gristly meat, I would dry heave and cry. I still have trouble eating when someone elses food smells nasty to me (like at a restaurant, where someone orders a smelly stew at the table with me). I was never forced to eat. (I wish I could still call myself " Skinny Penny " LOL!) Kay Toomey is an expert on feeding issues. I think she's in Colorado. And some kids do better when surrounded with " good " smells. Slice open a lemon before the meal, and let that scent permeate the room. The scent of smell is the only direct-connect sense to the brain, and can be over sensitive. > > I was talking with a friend of a beautiful daughter with autism who is about 8 yrs old. We were talking about food issues and how her ped and all her daughter's specialists insist she force her daughter to eat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 As far as forcing a autistic child to eat thing she is not used to or has tactile defensiveness twords.No way! I actually tried that when my younger daughter was little once and it just made things worse thankfuly for me I had to tell my exbf to back off and tried to get him to understand,he never did and that is part of the reason we are no longer together.I would,as it was stated in another post allow the child to see and smell other foods at the dinner table and make it like she is not allowed to have it.It might not change for along time as far as only eating certain foods Iwent through chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese for about four years straight with my youngest.In school when my daughter was five I decided to get hot lunch for her.I talked to her teachers and we always had pb there for an last resort.They worked really hard with her and they finally got her to try new foods and she is still doing well even at home and that was an even bigger task but with my trainers working with her and I myself working with her she has been able to eat a bigger variety of foods.IHATE MACARONI AND CHEESE IT OFFENDS ME HUGE NOW DAYS LOL! It takes time and a lot of work and patience but it has paid off .I used to get food thrown at me and get hit all of the time but it was worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 As far as forcing a autistic child to eat thing she is not used to or has tactile defensiveness twords.No way! I actually tried that when my younger daughter was little once and it just made things worse thankfuly for me I had to tell my exbf to back off and tried to get him to understand,he never did and that is part of the reason we are no longer together.I would,as it was stated in another post allow the child to see and smell other foods at the dinner table and make it like she is not allowed to have it.It might not change for along time as far as only eating certain foods Iwent through chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese for about four years straight with my youngest.In school when my daughter was five I decided to get hot lunch for her.I talked to her teachers and we always had pb there for an last resort.They worked really hard with her and they finally got her to try new foods and she is still doing well even at home and that was an even bigger task but with my trainers working with her and I myself working with her she has been able to eat a bigger variety of foods.IHATE MACARONI AND CHEESE IT OFFENDS ME HUGE NOW DAYS LOL! It takes time and a lot of work and patience but it has paid off .I used to get food thrown at me and get hit all of the time but it was worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 As far as forcing a autistic child to eat thing she is not used to or has tactile defensiveness twords.No way! I actually tried that when my younger daughter was little once and it just made things worse thankfuly for me I had to tell my exbf to back off and tried to get him to understand,he never did and that is part of the reason we are no longer together.I would,as it was stated in another post allow the child to see and smell other foods at the dinner table and make it like she is not allowed to have it.It might not change for along time as far as only eating certain foods Iwent through chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese for about four years straight with my youngest.In school when my daughter was five I decided to get hot lunch for her.I talked to her teachers and we always had pb there for an last resort.They worked really hard with her and they finally got her to try new foods and she is still doing well even at home and that was an even bigger task but with my trainers working with her and I myself working with her she has been able to eat a bigger variety of foods.IHATE MACARONI AND CHEESE IT OFFENDS ME HUGE NOW DAYS LOL! It takes time and a lot of work and patience but it has paid off .I used to get food thrown at me and get hit all of the time but it was worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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