Autism/Special Needs, Strategies 
28 Comments Try This Tuesday: Food, Fabulous Food
Following my comments today about feeding issues, I was asked how many foods my little guy will eat. That made me curious, so I made a list and was pleasantly surprised that the number is much higher than I thought – around 30.
First of all, I had mentioned that we were down to 5 foods around his second birthday. It was something like this:
- Month 1 – mom makes grilled cheese sandwich, son loves it and eats it all up
- Month 2 – mom makes grilled cheese sandwich, son fusses and eats parts that do not have cheese oozing out the side
- Month 3 – mom makes grilled cheese sandwich, son cries and won’t eat any of it
Bad foods would be ice cream or any other very cold food; mushy foods like mashed potatoes, pasta, pudding, applesauce or yogurt; crumbly foods like cake or doughnuts; meat that is not breaded or encased in something; or anything vaguely resembling a fruit or vegetable (other than grapes and bananas). And God forbid you try to use any type of condiments, except for syrup on pancakes and waffles!
Good foods would be specific GFCF & Michael-approved brands of crunchy cereal, cereal bars, corn chips, veggie chips, chocolate chips – sorry, I was on a “chips” roll 
, pretzels, crackers, cookies, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, french fries and an occasional fish stick. As I mentioned above, he will eat grapes and bananas, and he likes waffles and pancakes, both with syrup.
For treats, he also likes raisins, fruit snacks, jelly beans, lollipops and gummi bears (this does not include other shapes of gummies, which are yucky!). Although for the most part, his diet is gluten-free, casein-free, dye-free, preservative-free, we will occasionally let him have a few M&Ms or Hershey Kisses and have not seen a negative reaction in small quantities.
Warning: If anyone reading this is looking for guidance on what to feed your child, I would not recommend that you use me as an example. We have chosen not to make this a big issue in our lives, since we have been focusing so much on things like speech, and sleep, and why we are getting yet another new support staff person!
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Tags: 5MFSN, behavioral strategies, feeding issues, Try This Tuesday
30! Well done you. And yes like you say, we’re only getting ‘serious’ about food now due to other little matters like speech and sleep! Yeah Progress!
Cheers
30! Well done you. And yes like you say, we’re only getting ‘serious’ about food now due to other little matters like speech and sleep! Yeah Progress!
Cheers
This sounds so much like frog’s diet for a very long time. We too did not make it an issue. We did 6 month trial of GF/CF with no discernable results. Last summer, after an extended round of antibiotics, he started eating salad (and all of the other vegetation in the yard – whole new issues). After we started NAET treatments his diet blossomed. He eats fruit, vegetables, meat, grain and dairy. He still avoids frozen, hot or mushy food – likes things room temperature with some bite to them. His new favorite food is broccoli – especially from the Thai restaurant with chicken and garlic. I think the allergy elimination treatment has had a lot to do with this.
This sounds so much like frog’s diet for a very long time. We too did not make it an issue. We did 6 month trial of GF/CF with no discernable results. Last summer, after an extended round of antibiotics, he started eating salad (and all of the other vegetation in the yard – whole new issues). After we started NAET treatments his diet blossomed. He eats fruit, vegetables, meat, grain and dairy. He still avoids frozen, hot or mushy food – likes things room temperature with some bite to them. His new favorite food is broccoli – especially from the Thai restaurant with chicken and garlic. I think the allergy elimination treatment has had a lot to do with this.
How wonderful that your son already recognizes the connection between his emotions and his sensory sensitivities. As he gets older, that will really serve him well.
My younger son has certain little rituals that he says help him to eat a food that otherwise makes him anxious or nauseated. My older son has found that he can eat certain foods only if served cold, even though “normal” eaters would find this unappetizing. Eating is still a struggle, but they are finding their way.
How wonderful that your son already recognizes the connection between his emotions and his sensory sensitivities. As he gets older, that will really serve him well.
My younger son has certain little rituals that he says help him to eat a food that otherwise makes him anxious or nauseated. My older son has found that he can eat certain foods only if served cold, even though “normal” eaters would find this unappetizing. Eating is still a struggle, but they are finding their way.
p.s. a grilled cheese sandwich is technically three foods = bread,, cheese and possibly butter – you are well ahead of the curve dearie.
Cheers
p.s. a grilled cheese sandwich is technically three foods = bread,, cheese and possibly butter – you are well ahead of the curve dearie.
Cheers
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for sharing this.
Little Guy is right….any other gummie not shaped like a bear is yucky.
Little Guy is right….any other gummie not shaped like a bear is yucky.
You know what? When bad food goes in MY mouth my heart hurts and it makes me cry, too!! What a great description to help us all understand that it’s so much more than “I’m being stubborn” or “I don’t really care for this taste in my mouth.”
You know what? When bad food goes in MY mouth my heart hurts and it makes me cry, too!! What a great description to help us all understand that it’s so much more than “I’m being stubborn” or “I don’t really care for this taste in my mouth.”
I love M’s description of how he feels about certain foods. More than the conquering of certain foods, I would guess that his ability to talk with you about them and his process is a bigger victory.
And while none of my bio children have special needs that require special diets, they all had very specific issues regarding their food. The first one, everything was an issue and we made it worse. By the time #4 came along, we realized how silly that was. Ironically, now that #1 is 14 and a gazillion feet tall, he’ll eat whatever is not nailed down. And in huge amounts. I can’t even believe he was our ‘picky’ sensitive one!
I love M’s description of how he feels about certain foods. More than the conquering of certain foods, I would guess that his ability to talk with you about them and his process is a bigger victory.
And while none of my bio children have special needs that require special diets, they all had very specific issues regarding their food. The first one, everything was an issue and we made it worse. By the time #4 came along, we realized how silly that was. Ironically, now that #1 is 14 and a gazillion feet tall, he’ll eat whatever is not nailed down. And in huge amounts. I can’t even believe he was our ‘picky’ sensitive one!
I love his description, that’s so great that he can articulate what he’s feeling! His list of “approved” and “non-approved” foods sounds an awful lot like my Little Bitty’s list – no mushy stuff or ice cream (he’s always curious when he sees ice cream but won’t actually eat it b/c it’s too cold) and he loves the crunchy stuff and chicken nuggets. Most of the time. Sometimes he won’t eat anything, which is frustrating to say the least. So far he is still growing ok so we haven’t made it an issue either. Too many other things to work on first!
I love his description, that’s so great that he can articulate what he’s feeling! His list of “approved” and “non-approved” foods sounds an awful lot like my Little Bitty’s list – no mushy stuff or ice cream (he’s always curious when he sees ice cream but won’t actually eat it b/c it’s too cold) and he loves the crunchy stuff and chicken nuggets. Most of the time. Sometimes he won’t eat anything, which is frustrating to say the least. So far he is still growing ok so we haven’t made it an issue either. Too many other things to work on first!
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We haven’t made food a big issue in our house either. I’m just happy Kayla eats. Except she’s always had diarrhea since she was born, except for when we were strictly GF/CF after she was diagnosed with autism. Now I’m wondering if she has other issues, like Celiacs, because when we tried to put her back on gluten based foods, she got diarrhea again. So now I HAVE to give her gluten for a week so her screening test will be more accurate (the doctor said a month, but no way am I putting up with a month of cleaning up explosive poops!)
We haven’t made food a big issue in our house either. I’m just happy Kayla eats. Except she’s always had diarrhea since she was born, except for when we were strictly GF/CF after she was diagnosed with autism. Now I’m wondering if she has other issues, like Celiacs, because when we tried to put her back on gluten based foods, she got diarrhea again. So now I HAVE to give her gluten for a week so her screening test will be more accurate (the doctor said a month, but no way am I putting up with a month of cleaning up explosive poops!)
My heart goes out to you, Trish. I applaud your efforts and your attitude to not make it a big deal.
My heart goes out to you, Trish. I applaud your efforts and your attitude to not make it a big deal.
I found you blog through 5 min for special needs. I too have a eating problem with my son, he too likes all the chips and junk food items. I have yet to fight him on any of it, we are eating by mouth , taking in calories, and working on getting rid of the GTube. There are so many things changing with our kids that what he eats isnt an issue…..I think we will be OK.
Hang in there, you are doing really great. I will have to take a day and read up on everything…this is my first visit.
I found you blog through 5 min for special needs. I too have a eating problem with my son, he too likes all the chips and junk food items. I have yet to fight him on any of it, we are eating by mouth , taking in calories, and working on getting rid of the GTube. There are so many things changing with our kids that what he eats isnt an issue…..I think we will be OK.
Hang in there, you are doing really great. I will have to take a day and read up on everything…this is my first visit.
I cannot believe how similar our sons’ likes and dislikes are! Jacob WILL eat yogurt, but he will NOT eat grapes. He’s got such a sensitive gag reflex, and it’s gotten worse in the past month. Most fruits and veggies, because of their texture, set him off. He’s now starting to make this weird gagging-type noise, and a few times he’s actually almost choked – scary!
Big progress – he’s actually licked, on several occasions, watermelon and orange slices!
For the most part, Jacob survives on Cheerios, chicken nuggets, and milk. And THANK GOODNESS he’s decided he likes PBJ sandwiches again after going a full year without them. Now I don’t have to stress so much about what I fix him for lunch at school.
I cannot believe how similar our sons’ likes and dislikes are! Jacob WILL eat yogurt, but he will NOT eat grapes. He’s got such a sensitive gag reflex, and it’s gotten worse in the past month. Most fruits and veggies, because of their texture, set him off. He’s now starting to make this weird gagging-type noise, and a few times he’s actually almost choked – scary!
Big progress – he’s actually licked, on several occasions, watermelon and orange slices!
For the most part, Jacob survives on Cheerios, chicken nuggets, and milk. And THANK GOODNESS he’s decided he likes PBJ sandwiches again after going a full year without them. Now I don’t have to stress so much about what I fix him for lunch at school.