Autism or sensory processing disorder

I've got a 15 month old toddler who's having some developmental issues - he doesn't eat finger food and has a very limited diet, plus he isn't speaking yet, just sort of whiny noses ('Eeeeeeee' and 'Mmmmmmm' being his favourites). He's having an assessment at 18 months but I do have some concerns regarding autism. But I actually have SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder) myself and I had a limited diet (still do) and was a late talker so I'm wondering if it's just SPD passed down to him, as I understand autism includes SPD as a component. But what distinguishes an autistic toddler from a toddler with sensory issues?

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It really depends. It will be important to keep an eye on factors which might signify allergy or discomfort when eating. My GP always inquires if I'm taking a supplement given my allergies, so a multi won't do any harm. 

Sometimes they don't need much just the right things. My son is much older and after finally working out he had an egg allergy (that took years!) now he's realising he needs to mind certain fats - some he cannot seem to process so we're waiting to have more things tested like his gall bladder and liver. His father had issues with these, so he may have gotten those genetics and we'll have to temper his ingredient list accordingly. 

I ended up with my fathers cholesterol and gluten issues. Lovely! But everyone is different and biology should be your first concern. When my son was young I bought a whole selection of protein bars and let him do a tasting. He found one he liked, that search was over. My advice would be to go full throttle into the protein shake. Become an expert. 

First I'd perform a tasting - mash up each different berry and fruit (you can finish the rest) and tinned ones are good for this, each into their own bowl and other fruit and maybe some veg. Allow a tiny taste of each, maybe see if there is a combination they like. And then you'll have a set ingredient list for the next few years maybe. Easy! You could delegate one full week to try different combinations maybe - with or without yogurt, with or without banana, and so on. Spending a tasting for the right protein shake and there's a breakfast or lunch you never have to think about. Maybe even dinner. Next it's a whole night over 10 different patés. And DONE. You've accomplished their meals and don't have to think about it until a year or two or whenever they're ready to try something new. There's nothing wrong with a paté sandwich and applesauce for a lunch every day. Protein shakes can be difficult at school but maybe they're breakfast dinner. Either way, the only important thing to watch for are the major allergies: peanuts, cocoa, gluten, eggs, etc. There's a lovely amount of sites easily googled which can help. 

Thank you for this. I never knew any of this in regards to food. I just thought it was texture but what you are saying makes sense.

My child won't even eat solids in solid form. I keep trying but to no avail. The slightest lump and everything is up.

Do children with these issues get more difficult to feed as they get older 

More on this with vegetables! They can also taste bitter for a few reasons. There can be a sensitivity to them which won't surface as a problem until later in life (as it did with me regarding many legumes and many cruciferous vegetables - I have severe dietary issues with most of these). Children also don't need the added vitamins. Human bodies regenerate well until a certain age. And it's mindful to keep vitamins in moderation. For instance if you child doesn't like bananas it could be they're getting more than enough potassium from potatoes. Or if they don't want eggs, they could be getting selenium from a handful of Brazil nuts (even coated in chocolate!). There's much more information available now on vitamin content and nutrition. 

I didn't have the best childhood. I was undiagnosed coeliac and that meant I had problems digesting milk. Those high fibre veg and wheat products were causing severe problems by my teens, but my mother was oddly obsessed with health foods, assuming if it tasted awful it was good for you - this is a massive lie! As it turns out your taste buds are connected to your gut. We were dehydrated from lack of sugar and salt, which my grandmother would notice thankfully. I was sickly thin from not being able to get nutrients from the diet I actually needed, but unfortunately my mother was envious of this, instead of taking me to a health professional. 

When my son was little, my grandmother taught me to feed him little amounts often. I'd cut things up so it looked like he only had a little to eat and just give him another piece or a few different for him to choose from. A few berries or 1 chopped up small carrot. Kid friendly Fruit and veg while he was playing, though it's good to focus on a little at a time and then really basic food with dinner. Never butter or mayo on ham and cheese. Never added catchup or mustard to a burger. He still doesn't prefer  most condiments except BBQ sauce and he's 25!

See I don't know what my child has then. The issues include eating a very specific diet due to sensory issues within the mouth, severe communication and language delay and well that's it. No issues with lights noise etc and no other traits of autism

Thank you for this. All of this is really helpful and things I never thought of. I will try these and hopefully see some progress I hope. 

Children with autism have disruptions in brain connectivity along social and emotional pathways, whereas those pathways are intact in children with SPD alone. Children with SPD tend to have more problems with touch than do those with autism, whereas children with autism struggle more with sound processing.

If your child is running around possible to self regulate themselves. If they are doing this at meal time they could be dealing with stress at meal times. Sensory processing disorder like autism itself can only be managed positively or effectively on an individual level.

But I can suggest some things and explain the process for you from my own experience of being autistic adult myself with autism, ADHD and sensory processing disorder..

Sensory processing disorder when it comes to food isn't all about the food for many individuals. The location, the sounds, the light and even the colour of the walls and dishware where your eating can also affect how an individual with sensory processing disorder chances of consuming food. this could be causing pre dinner anxiety & routine and eating at exact time and a regularly occurring menu like chicken nuggets every monday may lower stress levels.

also do not force your child to eat or try foods, encourage them at their own pace.  don't try and force them this will create a demand avoidance. also keep offering foods like fruit and vegetables at meal times. Some autistic children do pick up manipulative behaviour to encourage their parents to feed them foods they want, just be aware of how your responding to them. Jo frost supernanny has clips on youtube of a fussy eater, apply some of her techniques may help. 

The diet in which your feeding your child may be leading to the excitative behaviours as most thing we autistic induvial consume a lot of have huge amounts of preservatives which can trigger hyperactivity in children with additional needs. processed chicken, processed turkey and processed ham and many breaded frozen foods often contains additives or colourants that cause hyperactivity. 

You may need to create an environment for your child to be entertained while they eat, it can sometimes distract them from being picky. Some people use tablet devices to give their child the additional stimulation while eating which is'nt always a negative thing. When i was a child my sister who often cared for me placed a waterproof car play mat on the floor and put the coffee table on top of that and allowed me to watch blues clues on the television, trust me it works.

Food play is also a creative thing my sister did with me as a child to get me to eat fruit and vegetables by allowing me to play and create things with food i had issues with, this encourage me to give them a real try which acclimated my taste buds. most children are born with a negative disposition to certain fruit and vegetables, its a human adaption that has existed since ancient time to discourage infants from ingesting greenery that may be poisonous by making them taste bitter, it often this bitterness that discourages children from eating vegetables. the only problem is it can take a while of repeatedly eating thing such as broccoli to acclimate so the body doesn't presume it to be bitter.  

Thank you for this.  You see my child has severe communication and language delay, issues with texture of food and as a result has a limited diet. Also do you possibly know any techniques to get a child to sit down. My child just will not sit down gets very excited. It's not that my child is annoyed with lights or people, just loves to run out doors, gets very excited and thinks it's normal 

No, They are comorbid disorders which means they often exist together but are two separate diagnosis. Sensory processing disorder has four phenotypes and they can cross over from one another. Doctors often will not pursue a secondary diagnosis after the autism disorder for sensory processing disorder because lack of knowledge on where to send children to be diagnosed.

Sensory processing disorder can occur in multiple Nuero developmental disorder and learning disabilities such as Autism, ADHD & dyslexia.