Food issues

[jackaroe]

Hi I was a poster on tcf mostly on cloth diapers about 2 years ago, I would really appreciate if anyone could give me some insight on my DS's food issues.
DS is 3 and has just finished his assessment for asd, we get the report in a few weeks but are pretty certain he is autisic. I'm concerned about lots of things with him but have found a wonderful private O.T. That helps with so much unfortunately she has limited experience with food issues and the dietitian we saw basically gave me a pamphlet and sent me on my way. I have read a ton and feel like I have tried everything and made some progress but also have taken a few steps back. Currently DS eats the same thing every day every meal. It is heavy on bread, some variation there ex. tortilla, crackers, baquette, bagel, most fruits, veggie straws, pretzels, and occasionally a few bites of peanut butter and jam on crackers.
We have had the most success when he helps me prepare meals and will lick some of the foods very rarely he also tried a bite. I'm so happy about this but in the mist of the trying new things he has stopped eating the few other safe foods , namely cheese.
He is growing and seems healthy but I guess I just need to hear from someone on the other side, does it get better? How long does this last or is it a lifetime of anxiety around food? He restricts himself even more when he is anxious, for example he is starting preschool and we have been taking him there in the mornings when the building is quite to get used to the new space and teachers. We had to pull back and stop for three weeks because he started to only eat ketchup and bread.
He also sees his younger sister eat everything and asks for exactly what she has too, I'm hoping with the start of preschool, they get a snack, this would help him a bit too?
I would really grateful for any antidotes or words of wisdom, I feel like I have tried anything but if you have advice there I will take it too. His therapist once told me there is no " secret magic " to getting your child to eat and it's just to keep trying, no pressure and hopefully one day it will get better. I try to follow this but it still stresses me out. Thanks for reading the novel!

[pipsqueak]

Hello and a NJCD welcome to this board.

[jackaroe]

Aug 19, 2018 21:43:58 GMT -5 pipsqueak said:

Hello and a NJCD welcome to this board.

Hi! How are you and pip? It's been awhile.

[pipsqueak]

Aug 20, 2018 5:24:34 GMT -5 jackaroe said:

Aug 19, 2018 21:43:58 GMT -5 pipsqueak said:

Hello and a NJCD welcome to this board.

Hi! How are you and pip? It's been awhile.

I finally gave in and joined NJCD at their new home at some point after Pip cleared my Kindle on me. Come join in and share updates.

[funchicken]

Welcome to the board! I didn't think your list was that terrible for a three year old since you said he likes a variety of fruit in addition to the bread/crackers. My youngest DD is a good eater, and even she got kind of picky around age 3. She's four now, and she's back to eating a much greater variety. DD1 (10) has a lot of sensory issues around food. She also had 3 stomach bugs last spring, so she stopped eating a few things she previously liked. I find that her pickiness comes and goes.

It sounds like you're doing the right things. I would keep offering new things along with the things you know he'll eat, keep it low pressure, and let him decide what he'll eat. Letting him help with food prep is good, too. I hope that helps!

[freezorburn]

Hi jackaroe! I remember you from NJCD. Hope you are doing well!

DS's food issues have been mostly typical for his age, but accompanied slightly by the stubbornness and rigidity of ASD. He was open to trying all kinds of things when he first started solid food, then became picky when he got into his preschool years. I would say he is more rigid at home than if he is in a setting where he has to eat what is offered, like when preschool provided snacks. Now that he is school age, he seems to like the lunches offered at school. Mostly he likes that he has to enter a number into a PIN pad in order to get his lunch, and he has found a few things he will eat among the things offered. So that has opened up a few more options for us at home.

Anecdote: DS's dad had an uncle who only ate grilled cheese until he was 14. I don't know what led him to branch out, but this is part of the family lore.

[jackaroe]

Thanks for the replys, I appreciate it. I guess I'm just concerned that he gets no protein, dairy , fats , vegetables etc like is this going to affect his growth or brain development at some point? I'm thinking since all the bread stuff he eats is fortified that he gets some minerals in that way but is it enough? I don't know, I have issues with smells , textures myself so I get it I just wish he could tell me . Hopefully his language will progress at some point and he could tell me what he likes it doesn't like.

Hi freezorburn ! I'm ok just starting to see the light so to speak the last year has been rough! Hope you and your DS are doing well too!

[funchicken]

I think since he used to eat cheese, and he's still willing to try things, I'd give it some time and see if you can add some new foods gradually. I'm pretty sure DD3 ate nothing but pasta with butter and parmesan cheese for about four straight months last year. Now she's back to eating everything.

[jackaroe]

Aug 21, 2018 6:31:43 GMT -5 funchicken said:

I think since he used to eat cheese, and he's still willing to try things, I'd give it some time and see if you can add some new foods gradually. I'm pretty sure DD3 ate nothing but pasta with butter and parmesan cheese for about four straight months last year. Now she's back to eating everything.

I definitely will keep trying with no pressure at all, he is starting preschool and I know when he gets overwhelmed the first thing he does is restrict his eating and I don't think there is much left for him to restrict! I'm hoping once he is a bit more comfortable with this transition he will start eating more. Thanks so much for your feedback, sometimes you just need to hear that what your doing is right!

[freezorburn]

There have been stretches where I was concerned that DS wasn't getting enough variety, so I do give him vitamins. Just a simple multi and some vitamin D. I have a vitamin D deficiency myself, and have to take it daily, so I figure that's a good one for him to have, too.

[jackaroe]

Well I guess ds was feeling something too because he ate chicken nuggets tonight with dinner. Omg, I almost cried in front of him. He even asked for more after his first helping. Words do not express the joy that comes with seeing your child eat something other than 10 slices of plain bread!
Thank you again everyone.

[funchicken]

Aug 22, 2018 13:40:54 GMT -5 jackaroe said:

Well I guess ds was feeling something too because he ate chicken nuggets tonight with dinner. Omg, I almost cried in front of him. He even asked for more after his first helping. Words do not express the joy that comes with seeing your child eat something other than 10 slices of plain bread!
Thank you again everyone.

Yay! That's awesome! 

[jackaroe]

It's been a year and a half since he ate chicken last, I don't know what made him try last night but I'll take it!

[auntie]

I feel your pain.

Food restrictions are hard. Speaking specifically of kids with ASD, anxiety and/or SPD- IME, for some kids this is something that does improve over time. For others, it does not. I have known families who have don't feeding therapy, which generally is some form of food-chaining, with mixed results. It tends to work best when an OT and psychologist are part of the team with an SLP if there are significant tone issues.


You child seems to be eating the classic "white" autism diet. Lots of refined white flour. Usually they also guzzle a lot of milk/cheese as well. A few folks I know have gotten better variety in transitioning to the GFCF diet; their kid still had ASD but ate more kinds of foods. My BIL's 3rd wife put her DS w/ASD on it for a time; his skin cleared up and she claimed he was "rescued from autism" on her Facebook page, but 8 years out he's in a special day class for kids with ASD who do not have ID and doing well.


My kid had a limited diet. At 25 he still kind of does. DH and I are really into food and wine/beer so it makes me a little sad that DS isn't.

He's a bit of a sensory seeker with food, so he was open to tart and spicy flavors. DS's go-to order when he was a toddler was a Caesar Salad (he still sometimes fixes himself one if he doesn't like what's on the menu; he would also eat lemons. Most meat textures were a turn off. He still doesn't care for eggs, steak or chops but will eat ground meat, most fish, lunch meats and cheese so protein is covered. He drinks milk now, but didn't until he was about 6.


You may find exposure to his peers' diets might open him up to what they're eating. I found DS picked up some of variety from other kids but not all kids on spectrum do benefit from peer models early on.


DS's lunch today? Genoa salami and sharp provolone on Hoboken bread with lettuce and hoagie dressing, red grapes, carrot sticks, Noosa yogurt, some chips and Meyer lemon cookies. And 3 cans of Coke Zero.



I would look into doing some informal food chaining.

feedingmykid.com/article/picky-eater-help-food-chaining/


www.amazon.com/Food-Chaining-Feeding-Problems-Child%C2%92s/dp/1600940161

[jackaroe]

Aug 24, 2018 7:35:02 GMT -5 auntie said:

I feel your pain.

Food restrictions are hard. Speaking specifically of kids with ASD, anxiety and/or SPD- IME, for some kids this is something that does improve over time. For others, it does not. I have known families who have don't feeding therapy, which generally is some form of food-chaining, with mixed results. It tends to work best when an OT and psychologist are part of the team with an SLP if there are significant tone issues.


You child seems to be eating the classic "white" autism diet. Lots of refined white flour. Usually they also guzzle a lot of milk/cheese as well. A few folks I know have gotten better variety in transitioning to the GFCF diet; their kid still had ASD but ate more kinds of foods. My BIL's 3rd wife put her DS w/ASD on it for a time; his skin cleared up and she claimed he was "rescued from autism" on her Facebook page, but 8 years out he's in a special day class for kids with ASD who do not have ID and doing well.


My kid had a limited diet. At 25 he still kind of does. DH and I are really into food and wine/beer so it makes me a little sad that DS isn't.

He's a bit of a sensory seeker with food, so he was open to tart and spicy flavors. DS's go-to order when he was a toddler was a Caesar Salad (he still sometimes fixes himself one if he doesn't like what's on the menu; he would also eat lemons. Most meat textures were a turn off. He still doesn't care for eggs, steak or chops but will eat ground meat, most fish, lunch meats and cheese so protein is covered. He drinks milk now, but didn't until he was about 6.


You may find exposure to his peers' diets might open him up to what they're eating. I found DS picked up some of variety from other kids but not all kids on spectrum do benefit from peer models early on.


DS's lunch today? Genoa salami and sharp provolone on Hoboken bread with lettuce and hoagie dressing, red grapes, carrot sticks, Noosa yogurt, some chips and Meyer lemon cookies. And 3 cans of Coke Zero.



I would look into doing some informal food chaining.

feedingmykid.com/article/picky-eater-help-food-chaining/


www.amazon.com/Food-Chaining-Feeding-Problems-Child%C2%92s/dp/1600940161

Thank you for the suggestions , the lemon sucking yes! He does this with lemons and pickles. I thought maybe sensory seeking but his "safe" foods are as bland as can be. When he tried the chicken nuggets the other night, and has asked for them but not touched them the past two nights, he also tried one bite of chicken breast . It had some seasoning on it and he held his ears and hummed while he chewed so I'm pretty sure he didn't like it.
Every therapist I've spoken to has said the same thing to me for the past year," oh that's not so bad, I've seen much worse." A year and half ago I had started to worry because I saw him go from eating mostly everything to really scaling back but still had yogurt, cheese, nuggets and spaghetti. Then he dropped the yogurt, then everything else till it was just bread , fruit , and cheese( with a couple snacks like pretzels) Now I still get but he eats fruit, yes I know he isn't as restricted as some but it's still not great since he eats zero protein and dairy on a daily basis. It's so frustrating when I see him hungry but he can't trust any other foods but his preferred ones, so like 6 slices of bread for lunch. I thought we had finally taken a turn the other night but maybe it's just a one off.
He will be going to mainstream preschool in a few weeks and they will give him snack there so I'm hoping he will be able to eat something. It helps me to know why these things are a struggle for him to try and help him, is it one day the food just started to taste different to him or texture maybe? Is it control, I feel like he started all this with food when his sister was born. It's hard not having any answers from him as well, will he ever be able to tell me ? Did your son tell you why he didn't like certain foods? I love cooking and good food so to see him only eat packaged food, nothing homemade also really kills me.