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

[Guest guest]

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]

Hi - My youngest also has a very limited diet, though his consists

mostly of meat! Actually, it's gotten a bit better, but what made me

feel better than anything was going to a nutritionist and having them

evaluate his diet over 1-2 weeks. After looking at it, they found

that through diet alone, he was making up 99% of everything! He was

slightly low in zinc (so we added some crackers he happens to like

that have a fairly high percentage) and a B vitamin. We still give

him a daily vitamin to make up for those problem days. I must say

that having her look at it and tell us that he was doing fine was

MUSIC! Go see one if you can, or you can evaluate by keeping a VERY

ACCURATE food diary for him. You'd be surprised -

Also, it it's texture that causes the problems, keep offering the

food in different ways. Also - don't give up. We heard that it may

take a child seeing a food 100 times before s/he will consider

TOUCHING it, much less eating it. Once my son would touch something,

he'd tasted it by licking it. See if you can get your child to touch

other foods by playing with them - bowls of cut veggies, boiled

pasta, cereal, anything! We also always offer the option of spitting

it out. You wouldn't chew and swallow something you thought was

gross - you'd spit it out (ok, unless you were at a UN dinner!) - and

you should let your child do the same. It takes some of the fear out

of it. So, always offer the food - in fact, demand that it go on

their plate - and keep trying.

Finally, I was a picky eater as a child, and I still am. I don't

like things that don't look like what they are. To clarify - if I

can't tell what form it took originally, I don't want to eat it!!

How did I fix this? I started cooking. Alot. I would eat it if I

knew I liked the ingredients that went in it. Hey - I like onions,

garlic, bread and oregano. Hey! I probably like foccacia though it

looks funny. And I was right. You'd be surprised by what kids will

eat if they can prepare it!

Good luck - and you have LOTS of company out there! I know a little

boy who ate nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and

bananas for 5 (!!!) years. He lived.

Best -

Marina

PS Then, for a rare few, reverse psychology works. It didn't in my

house, but you could always try the " do NOT touch this! It's MINE

and you can't have any because you're too little... " blah blah blah.

Hey - if it only works once, that's great, right?

>

> My son is 6 and eats mainly Pizza, poptarts, cheese, and so

forth,but NO MEAT andsuch and we worry.

> ANY ADVICE?

[Guest guest]

What type of toppings will your son eat on his pizza? Or, what can you get

away with hidding under the cheese? Pizza is a great food and can also offer

a well balanced meal all in one (e.g. Whole wheat crust, tomato sause,

cheese, veggies, and meats).

Pizza ideas:

Chicken dijon pizza- Instead of a red sauce, this is made with a

honey-mustard sauce covered with chunks of white meat chicken and four

cheeses: mozzarella, provolone, romano and ricotta.

------------------------------

Bubble Pizza-

Add veggies to the pizza for a balanced meal.

Serving: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

2 cans 10 count refrigerated butter biscuits

1 16 oz can pizza sauce

1 lb ground beef

2 Monterey Jack cheeses, shredded

2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Brown ground beef and drain.

2. Quarter the biscuits and mix with the beef and pizza sauce in a large

bowl (kitchen scissors works great.)

3. Put in a 9 x 13 greased pan.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and place cheese on top, return to oven and bake 10

minutes more.

6. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

7. Note: You may also add mushrooms, black olives, onions or any of your

favorite pizza toppings.

Based on individual serving.

Calories: 379

Total Fat: 22 g

Carbohydrates: 26 g

Protein: 17 g

-------------------------------------

Pasta Pizza-

8 oz. uncooked capellini (angel hair spaghetti)

1 tbsp. plus 1 tps. olive oil, divided

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/4 cups low-fat pasta sauce

1/4 cup slices black olives (optional)

1/2 cup shredded part-skim or nonfat mozzarella cheese

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

Prepare capellini as directed on package. Rinse and drain.

Set aside. In a 6-inch nonstick skillet, combine 1 tsp. olive oil, green

pepper and onion. Cook over medium-high heat for three to five minutes or

until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Set aside.

Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in 10-inch

nonstick skillet. Spread capellini in skillet. Cook for four to six minutes

or until lightly browned on underside. Turn pasta crust onto a plate. Slip

crust back into skillet browned side up. Reduce heat to medium.

Spoon sauce evenly over crust. Top with prepared vegetables

and olives. Sprinkle with cheese and Italian seasoning. Cover. Cook for 4 to

5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut pizza into wedges and serve. Makes

6 servings.

Nutritional Information

per serving (one cup): calories: 221

fat: 6 gram (2 gram saturated)

protein: 9 gram

cholesterol: 5 mg

sodium: 300 mg

dietary fiber: 2 gram

carbohydrate: 35 gram

Diabetic Exchange: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 fat

-------------------------------------

Just some suggestions...I know how hard it is to deal with a

picky eater!

Kris

[ ] HELP SONS APPETITE..has sensory problems too

and horrible appetite

>

> My son is 6 and eats mainly Pizza, poptarts, cheese, and so forth,but NO

MEAT andsuch and we worry.

> ANY ADVICE?

>

>

>

>