Hi Mums after any advice for a child on the spectrum with food sensory issues.he is almost four. How do I get him to taste food. He will only eat the same foods everyday. If they change packaging we are screwed. He eats 1 brand of sausage, luncheon meat, watermelon , yoghurt, bananas and bread and vegemite or just bread and butter.screams when we offer him anything else. If you travel he would Starve other than eat. The sausages he eats have been deleted and I cannot get them anywhere so know the only meat he eats is luncheon. We are going crazy with worry. He smells everything we offer him and then will not touch it. Any ideas would be so appreciated . We have been to a dietician and they said to keep offering him variety. This does not work he would rather starve. He is seeing a paediatrician and he is not overly concerned. He has only put on a 1 kg in 12 months. But he is happy and active and still has junior formula for dairy as he won’t drink any other milk.
4 Replies
Thats a pretty good range actually. Keep on offering and finding new things to add to the repertoire. but take the stress off you and him by keeping it predictable.
Start with an OT/psychologist/speech therapists that work in the field of food restrictions.
There are protocols with lots of evidence they work. It’s basically consistent exposure of the same new food over and over again.
My daughter has Aspergers and she also has an eating disorder called ARFID. She’s very similar in the food aspect. I’d say the eating disorder affects her life more than the ASD side of things. She only eats maybe 20-25 different food items and dry reaches and gags on new or different food. She will starve if not given the food she eats or if the brand changes. She now has to be fully supported with a feeding tube to meet weight and nutritional needs.
Dig a little deeper and see if your son has more going on that just the ASD food resistance.
Keep offering a variety and allow him to choose. you say it doesnt work....YET. It will give it time. Lots of kids go thru the fussy eating stage, my daughter was the same. Dont get yourself worked up and stressed, take the advice of the professionals.