Re: need feeding issue advise

[Guest guest]

every kid is different but we tried for years with OT to get nathan to chew

food and handle textures also, he also chewed up all his shirts, and grinded

his teeth to nothing and chewy tubes etc. To this day he still refuses, so i

puree items he use to not be able to eat without gaggin and choking, eg his

vegies and fruit. i found the canned veggies work the best and use the broth

or juice i the can and i get baby cereal rice to add for the proper

thickness if needed. i got these down to a nack stil have a hard time with

meat he has even been having more trouble just with basic ground beef, and

pasta is another hard item for him and to puree hmmmm, anyone have success

with these two itmes? nathan rarely chews and if he does its not even

really chewing its just playing with it in his mouth then swallowing whole

and choking even withme right there chewing withmy mouth open showinghim how

to chew he bite of ham. For meat he does really good with sausage links

lately loves them for breakfast so i buy many of them of the 100% meat kind,

and substute as needed. He can eat chicken or fish sticks but not ctuall

fish or chicken poultry is the worst for him. ive tried to use the crockpot

for meats for him as iowa city sugessted but have yet to master it for him

to eat. i make many crockpot meals during the winter so know how to use, but

havent found the right way for nathan. shawna

need feeding issue advise

> our son is going to be 5 in april and just newly diagnosed with

> austism. (Actually KKI gave dx of PDD, but local neurologist gave dx

> of Autism).

>

> 's feeding history is extremely lengthy. in short- he stayed

> in nicu for 2 weeks learning how to suck after he was born. at home

> it took 1 hour or more sometimes to get 3 ounces of formula down him.

> he had classic signs of reflux- but every one said it was the downs

> and his heart. well at 6 months old he had the heart repaired but the

> feeding got worse. by the time we had the nissan fundoplication with

> g button insertion done- he had esophageal ulcers, gastric ulcers,

> and also found a hiatal hernia. he was a sick little boy- at 6

> months of age. both heart and stomach surgeries were a month apart.

>

> skip now to current days. no more button- got that closed after 2 1/2

> years. he still does not chew food. he will chew chewy tubes,

> clothes, etc, but no food. he also continues to have texture

> issues. up to now he has about 5 things he will eat on his menu

> (milk, applesauce, pudding, ketchup, smooth peanut butter, and graham

> crackers. he used to eat chicken nuggets, fish sticks cut up into

> small peices and eat them if they were coated in ketchup but has quit

> doing that. have not been able to implement the GFCF diet because of

> his food texture issues, or his inability to eat substitutions for

> food items. (example - you could not give joshua a gluten free

> graham cracker) he would know the difference, and not tolerate the

> different texture.

>

> i know this is a downs and autism issue- but also oral motor as

> well. he also has a weakness speech wise- since he has no words in

> his vocabulary.

>

> my question is this- how do i progress him to accept and try new

> foods, and to develop or refine his eating skills. i would like to

> see him start chewing- and trying new foods out . i have him in

> speech at school and seeing a speech on the side- they are trying to

> get a fuctional speech on board. i have no one yet to help out with

> the eating issues. just nervous that no progress is being made in

> this area. ( his self help skills are realy failing right now.

>

> any advise from some one who has overcome sesory defensiveness around

> and inside the mouth and had similiar eating issues would be

> appreciated. ps - i tried to place food on molars when younger- but

> that was a horrible experience for him so i quit that.

>

> kris

>

> joshua almost 5 with ds/austism

>

>

>

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[Guest guest]

when we went through the texture difficulties with Trisha the speech

therapist broke down the different foods into tiny little bite sizes and each

time

Trisha chewed one was rewarded with something she liked, we also worked with

oral exercises, massage, and putting favorite flavors on food textures she

really had the most problems with. There are still a few foods she doesn't

like

in her mouth but on the whole she tolerates most foods now and I can live

with a few exceptions. :-)

Carol

Trisha's Mom

She isn't typical, She's Trisha!

[Guest guest]

Hi, I checked out Mics picture cute. Reminded me of the ones I have of Benton.

He also likes to line up all his friends and watch TV!! I made a file named

Benton!! with that picture along with a few others of my other kids. Go to

http://groups.yahoo.com/group// and click on photos on the

left hand side.

Janel,

Mommy to na 14, (a teenager(need I say more??)) ph 7, 6,

(bipolar), Benton 5 (DS & Autism) Minnesota, USA.

Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group// and click on photos on the

left hand side.

[Guest guest]

Hi Kris,

Welcome aboard. My sons feeding improved with The Oral Beckman Motor Therapy.

His private OT is trained with Sensory Integration, taught us to apply this

method. Has your son had an assessment by an OT trained with Sensory

Integration? Just to see if your son will benefit from it. Good luck.

http://www.beckmanoralmotor.com/about.htm

http://www.childhoodanxietynetwork.org/htdocs/htm/sid.htm

http://www.kidscanlearn.net/kids.htm

http://www.kidscanlearn.net/down.htm

http://www.kidscanlearn.net/language.htm

http://www.parentsplace.com/expert/dentist/qas/0,,166624_112337,00.html?arrivalS\

A=1 & arrival_freqCap=2

http://www.speech-express.com/speech-therapy/links-speech.html

Irma,15,DS/ASD

[Guest guest]

Hi Kris. Benton just turned 5 and has a variety of sensory issues. As far as

eating, he does a wide variety of textures. I am not sure if this helped him or

what.......... But when he was younger and I was introducing baby food etc. I

was always trying to figure ways to add texture to the smooth baby food. (I had

heard of a little DS boy who only ate pureed food, so I was aware that could be

an issue and tried to help him) He liked the baby food fruit/veges so I would

slowly add cottage cheese to the baby food, to give it texture but still kept

the taste he was liking. I don't even remember all the little things I would

add, ity bits of chopped up spaghetti noodles..... When I started introducing

meat I would use hamburger or small chopped up chicken pieces and again slowly

add it to the different baby foods he was eating. I don't know if this is what

helped him or what but now he will pretty much eat anything. He doesn't like

rice or for some reason mac and cheese, but for the most part he does well.. I

do however have a problem with him constantly chewing on his fingers!! I am

trying to get him to stop this but it is hard, I have the chewy tubes and nuk

things. It has actually seems to have gotten progressively worse over the last

year. He was at the dentist (no cavities!!) and she said it didn't look like he

was cutting teeth. Which I had come to the conclusion it couldn't be, seeing he

had been chewing for over a year!!

Janel,

Mom to na 14, ph 7, 6 (childhood depression NOS), Benton 5

(DS/autism) Minnesota, USA. Janel,

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/6/2004 10:52:37 AM Eastern Standard Time,

greenpak@... writes:

pasta is another hard item for him and to puree hmmmm, anyone have success

with these two itmes? nathan

a, have you tried those really super small sized pastas? Like orzo for

instance? Actually, they make them even tinier (like baby baby stars) to

use in soups. Maybe you could start with them and build up? Maddie used to

be super ritualistic about her food....more related to her autism than oral

defensiveness. She used to eat ONLY spaghetti for dinner...then hot dogs,

then ate nothing but yogurt once for more than 6 months. Now, she eats most

everything (but still HAS to have her jelly toast and yogurt for breakfast),

except cereal. She even eats SUSHI!!!!!!

Donna

[Guest guest]

Well, Maddie has a CHEF for a Mom!!!!! LOL I'm sure Donna could get me to

eat my vegetables!!!!!!!!! LOL

Gail :-)

Now, she eats most

everything (but still HAS to have her jelly toast and yogurt for breakfast),

except cereal. She even eats SUSHI!!!!!!

Donna

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/8/2004 10:20:24 PM Eastern Standard Time,

smilinggail@... writes:

Well, Maddie has a CHEF for a Mom!!!!! LOL I'm sure Donna could get me to

eat my vegetables!!!!!!!!! LOL

Gail :-)

LOLOLOL Gail!!!!!! Yea, but I still can't get n (18) to eat my

stuff!!!!! I made osso bucco the other night and he won't touch it,,,but

Maddie

gobbled it right up...;-)

Donna