Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
My Son is 3 years old, and non verbal, he has always been really difficult to feed, he doesn’t feed himself and can only have foods that he can swallow straight down because he doesn’t chew. All his foods are mainly blended, he doesn’t eat any solid food or meltable snacks. Meal times are always really difficult, it takes a long time for my son to eat a meal he constantly pushes the spoon away, or head butts the spoon, won’t open his mouth or just turns his head away. We make a variety of different meals and the outcome is always the same.Has anyone else experienced this? Or have any ideas as to what we can try? we have had a feeding assessment but it wasn’t any use, all they have said is that until my son starts feeding himself there isn’t much help they can give.
Thank you.
hi, my son has this i give nourishment type drinks, fruit/icecream smoothies, ellas kitchen oats baby breakfast pouches, semolina, custard. when he was about 5 he started feeding himself and added bread sticks, plain pasta and rice dry crackers and garlic cheese. hes now 11 and over the years has eaten various things then stopped, it turned out he has oral allergies, i think the food control might be his way of knowing whats affecting his body but not being able to explain. hes seen dieticians over the years and generally the advice is a daily vitamin and mineral supplement. advice wise i would say just keep offering different foods, dont worry if he doesnt eat it or about sticking to 1 food if thats all he eats and talk to his doctor about supplements. also try a food separator plate and a tablet or tv on to help distract from the food.
NAS73797 Thank you for your advice, and for sharing the struggles that you have had. We will seek some advice about supplements, and see what distractions we can come up with, my Son isn’t interested in tablets or the Tv. Thank you again for your help.
im trying to remember everything iv tried and thoughts iv had with my son over the years and i remembered thinking it could be something like not being able to see the entire process of the meal , i let him be around the meal prep/cooking/plating up, try keep the foods looking the same before and after cooking, try and cook bland foods, smell to a minimum. at 1 point my son ate iceberg lettuce, he would only eat it if he saw me chop it up and wash it. as for a distraction idea maybe try a small train set or a few building blocks on the table?? im just thinking something with motion . i also found that my son would eat more if he sat alone for meals, i would stay in the kitchen, cleaning etc so he has company but not the pressure of family meals, some people dont like others chewing noises. hope you find a quick solution and try not to get too disheartened if what works 1 day suddenly stops, theres always a reason and most of the time its pain related, headache ,toothache a cold coming etc etc