2 Year Old Won't Eat Because of Texture Issues

I hear ya sister! My son is 3 1/2 and also gets speech and OT for sensory processing disorder. He eats crackers, chips, pretzels, Kashi, dry cereal and drinks chocolate milk and some specific juices. we have been trying, in conjunction with the OT, to get him to eat something new and it's been difficult. He gags over the texture of ice cream too...craziness! The best advice I can give you is go slow. My son was so adversive to foods that he wouldn't even be in the same room with us if we were eating dinner. Now, he will come sit in my lap and if requested, smell the food.
Doesn't sound like a lot, but we've come very far to get him to do that. We have started listening therapy with him, it seems to be making some small changes ( for example, he was willing to try his sister's orange juice...again, not a lot, but he hsn't been willing to try somehing new since he established his "list.".) If you live in Louisville, there's a place calledthe Weiskopf Centerd downtown hat offers feeding therapy. Our insurance isn't accepted there, so we haven't been able to try it.

Good news for you though. My friend's little boy (who doesn't have SPD) used to have a strong gag reflex and wouldn't eat very much (he wasn't texture specific, just didn't want to eat). He had HIS adenoids taken out and you should see him now! He is a great eater. Maybe a lot of your son's issues stem from the adenoids blocking his food pathway... If you ever want to "talk" e-mail ____@____.com.

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Hey W.!
Hang in there. I am a speech and feeding therapist and it is a long road with a child like yours. You are definately doing the right thing by seeking help early. Not sure if your therapist uses a hierarchy approach, but it really helps some of my kids. I have a website that you can look it up on.
www.jennifermcveyslp.com
Go to the feeding milestone link. After you get there scroll down to the the steps to feeding. It seems painstaking, but it really works and as the child gets used to it, they even work through the steps on their own sometimes.
Watch that gag reflex too. Try not to play in to that too much. I am sure you all are doing some things in therapy to reduce that sensitivity.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask and good luck!
J. M.
www.jennifermcveyslp.com

1 mom found this helpful

Hi W.. I am a 34 yo. former pediatric Occupational Therapist turned stay at home mom of four kids (3 boys ages 6,4,& 2 and one sweet 1 yo. girl). What you are describing sounds like sensory defensiveness. Have you read the book THE OUT OF SYNC CHILD by Carol Kranowitz? I highly recommend it for parents to understand what their child is going through. Sensory defensiveness affects children differently. Some have oral defensiveness to textures as you decribe and some have tactile defensiveness to light touch or certain texture of clothes. Others may be defensive to sounds, smells, or all of the above. I would ask your occupational therapist for a home program to desensitize his mouth. Deep pressure is what is usually used to desensitize which may be why he is putting his hand in his mouth (to desensitize himself). It sounds like he is getting the therapy he needs but primary caretakers will need to be trained in any pre-feeding desensitization that is recommended by his OT. I know this is a difficult challenge but getting him the help he needs now will pay off in the future. I can't imagine how tough it must be to go through the effort of making food and then he doesn't want it. God bless you for persevering through this daily struggle! I will pray for your emotional strength and for wisdom for all involved in his care. - Jennifer Mc.

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Well, I never had any special circumstances to deal with when mine were this age, but what worked really well for us was the "two bite rule". They were served just what we were served, but had to try at least two bites of everything. That was all. We never forced them to eat it all or anything - just try. It was really effective for us. Also, as you probably know, not mixing foods helps too - like stews were always tough here. Good luck!

Dear W.,

I personally don't have experience with this, but I would like to tell you about someone I know with the same texture problem. I have a friend who is a general practioner, a wonderful woman, an excellent doctor. But where her son is concerned, she has blinders. When he was a baby, all he wanted was milk. When they tried to put him on food, he wouldn't eat - went on a hunger strike for 3 days - and they ended up letting him eat anything he wanted as he grew older. This turned into huge amounts of milk, cheese, bread, yogurt, bananas, french fries, and pancakes, etc. Oh, and candy. This child was way over 100th percentile very early on. (Dad's a big man too, and they are both tall now, but still.) When they go out to eat, they take food for him because he doesn't generally eat anything at the restaurant - no veggies, no meat. Not even pizza! He is an older teen now, very very big, and although in his younger years they encouraged lots of hiking, walking and exercise, now that he's older he refuses and is very sendentary. He shows signs of pre-diabetes, and his mom gives him Citracal every day because he is frequently constipated. She also gives him amino acids in his yogurt because she knows he's not getting what he needs in his extremely limited diet.

I'm telling you all of this because it didn't seem to occur to my very brilliant friend that there could be things to do to help him with this problem when he was little, other than just living with it and letting him dictate what they fed him. She never took him to feeding therapy or had him evaluated by a team at the local children's hospital. You might worry about your child not eating enough, but by letting him persist with the texture issue like my friend did, you might be setting your child up for terrible weight problems later on. It's great that you have a speech therapist and OT, but I wouldn't leave any stone unturned if I were you. I hope that the lady who emailed you who is a speech therapist and knows something about feeding issues can help you find someone to work with. All my best, D.

If you are looking to get some veggies in him, try adding Rice Krispies to the little packs of squash and sweet potatoes. The crunch might help him get it down.

Hi W.,

I just wanted to offer my support and say that I understand a little of what you are going through. My daughter has GERD (bad reflux) and allergies). She has been on medication most of her life and has had feeding issues all along. She currently is 17 months and receives speech and OT (for sensory and feeding issues). It is so upsetting when she doesn't eat and loses weight (even her pants get too big). She is still on formula to get extra calories. There are not any foods that she will reliably eat. Many times her feeding issues have brought me to tears. I don't necessarily have any advice, but can sympathize.

Good luck!

L.

Actually, my daughter had this problem, and we ended up having to really force the issue. I think it started out with a sensitivity issue, but ended up being a power struggle, b/c she could always get what she liked, instead of what she needed to eat. The main reason we were so persistent about getting her to eat other things was b/c my fiance has the same issues, but overcame them by just learning how to do it. So, we were confident she could also. One thing that helped us, was putting the food she wanted in front of her plate, and telling her she has to eat something else first before she could get to it. Only put the amount you will require him to eat on the plate though, so it's very visual, after you eat this one bite of this, then you will get these crackers that you love! It was hard, but worth it. Don't give in though, do not let him eat the reward food until his end of the agreement is carried out, it's hard b/c you don't want them to go hungry! Another thing that helped was putting her in preschool a couple days a week, she saw the other kids eating, and her interest to be like the others overcame her other issues. The teacher said she tried the veggies and stuff, even though she gagged the whole time. The gag reflex can be overcome though also, don't lose faith that your son cannot overcome the issues. I think sometimes we are too quick to write something off as a disorder that cannot be corrected, just as often as disorders go unnoticed, and that gives children an excuse to perpetuate the behavior. Write me a line if you have any questions, or need advice.

My son has huge texture issues and an extreme picky eater. We usually put a couple of things he really likes and a couple of new things on his plate. It cannot be mushy and he really is against smooth white (mayo and ranch dressing). I have old smooth ceramics that I used to make desserts in. I put a couple "dipping sauces" in them (peanut butter, cottage cheese, applesauce, ketchup). I usually just pick one or two. He gets to dip his food and try them. It seems it was more of a control issue on his part. This is how we discovered a favorite snack of peanut butter and carrot sticks. I also give him frozen vegetables and fruit. He won't eat them thawed or warm, but will eat them fresh or frozen. He also knows that once he is excused he cannot have anything else to eat until the next meal. I hope this helps. Good luck! PS - my son used to eat everything then stopped at 10 months. He is slowly trying and eating new things at 3.5yrs. My daughter never liked baby food, but will eat just about anything at 14 months.

Dear W., I have a grandson who is basically like your 2 year old. He was diagonised with NOONAN SYNDROME before leaving the hospital. He will be 5 in May. His eating habits are simular to your son. When he was 5 months he had heart surgery to correct a problem called pulmonary valve stenosis.
Noonan Syndrome is like Turner-Like Syndrome. Dr. Jackie Noonan renamed it after more girls were being treated. There is a support group, google it and see if this is helpful. I would love to hear from you. Elane

Your OT and SLP should be able to evaluate his eating and offer suggestions to you. That is their job. (I'm an SLP). Just remember to make meal time about 'fun' and 'exploration'. Let him 'play' with his food and see how it feels, by offering different textures. Good luck and keep doing a great job.

Hi W. - I have an almost 5 y/o son who is very similar to your son. Mine never showed any interest in baby food and was VERY particular about food in general until he started self-restricting foods at 2 1/2. He was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (an autism spectrum disorder) just before his 3rd birthday and receives OT and also received ST (for his self-restricting food issues). However, while the food therapy helped desensitize him concerning some of his texture/taste/color food issues, his self-restricting became so severe over the last 6 months that my husband and I demanded testing for celiac, Crohn's etc. Luckily our pediatrician is very supportive - all his tests came back normal/negative, but he had self-restricted down to V8 Fusion juice and Pediasure. He'd lost almost 10% of his body weight and was lethargic. We received a referral to a pediatric GI specialist who recommended an upper endoscopy based on his history and symptoms. In the 2 weeks we had to wait for the endoscopy, he cut out the Pediasure as well. As it turns out, he was diagnosed with gastroentiritis, and prescribed Zantac. What a difference! He is hungry, he EATS! and his energy levels are back to bouncing off the walls normal. He is still very particular and has his usual sensory issues with food, but now he can eat because he has no more pain. ANd FYI - he always said he had no pain - we think he had it his entire life, and did not understand that what he was feeling was not normal. So if you are receiving food desensitizing therapy already and not having much luck, it might be worth getting him tested to rule out an underlying physical cause that is exacerbating his other issues. Good luck! My son also had his adenoids removed (when they put in his 2nd set of ear tubes, for what it's worth).

S.

Hey W., I went thru that with my son...It turns out he has a sensory disorder. I did not know about it (he is 17) when he was younger..I wish I had. My grandson was premature and had to have therapy as well and the occupational therapist diagnosed him with a sensory disorder. He had sensory therapy; we had to use a special brush on his tongue. He eats better now but still has some issues...There is info on the web about it. It would probably give you some more info....Good luck..

My son had the same problems with textures and gagging. All he would ever eat was peanut butter sandwiches. As he got older, the doctor explained to him, not me, how important it is to eat healthy food. Once he could understand this it was easier to introduce new foods. He still has to have 3 or 4 cups of water with his meals to avoid gagging, but it has gotten so much better. I think right now your son is too young to understand the importance of eating other foods, but when he gets a little older it will be easier to explain to him in terms that he understands. I think he will definitely grow out of it though.

Hi. I am a speech therapist and worked with children who have oral sensory needs like your son has. Your OT, SLP or both are probably doing some feeding therapy with him. If you haven't already, you ought to observe some sessions where they address feeding issues. If he allows toothbrushing, try gently brushing areas of his tongue to break down any overly sensative areas in his mouth. Then, you might try dipping the brush or whatever other item he likes(teether toy, cloth, etc) into some sort of flavor that he won't accept. I have learned that kids with oral sensory issues almost need a very gradual, step by step method to expand their food varieties. Most are more likely to accept hard munchables (like a biter biscuit) that don't break apart quickly. The hardest foods to eat are usually mixed textures, like soups and casseroles. Make sure you know what the therapist are doing so you can carry over those things at home. That is crucial. Hope this was helpful. Hang in there with him. He'll get better.
J. M.

Hi W.-
I read that someone else said the symptoms sounded like a disease. I don't want to scare you and add another one, but please talk to your doctor about testing him for Asperger's Syndrome. Gag reflex. Food texture issues. Speech difficulties. It's all indicative of that.

Good luck to you.
R.

Check out Guidepostsmag.com. There's a story there about a lady who distributes just what you need. Her name is Paula DeVore. She has a website too but I didn't have the website. You may have to google her by name.

W., Do not pamper your child. He is controling you. Put what ever you cook in front of him, if he don't want it then do not give him anything else. There could be other issues also that has led to this. One could be that you are letting him be picky. Most kids are not that picky if you teach them not to be. Don't use so much variety. Use simple foods such as fruits and vegtables,whole grains foods, nuts, legumes(beans). Use chocolate soy milk-much healthier and cheaper by the 1/2 gallon. He will learn to like foods. This will work unless something that is hendering him from enjoying his foods.

sounds like he might be a "super taster", you can google it and find more info. I teach nutrition/wellness and know a few people that have kids like this. They are still working on it. I would suggest to try and find a choc drink that is made from whole foods, it will help him. If you need suggestions visit my mamasouce business.

W.,

I have a child with very similar issues. It breaks my heart when he says that he wants something different and looks at the ref and pantry and won't taste anything. My son is 10 this started when he was about three. Also, my son has Autism. He is very high functioning ( I hate this phrase) He is a great guy and I love him. We have worked very hard to introduce new foods. He has improved some, but its a long haul. I am not suggesting that your son has autism, but if you or anyone that knows him and your family well suggests it look into it. I am sorry, I am being so blunt, but I gave in to suggestions that my son did not have this disorder by well intentioned people (friends, pediatrian, family members, strangers) that would tell me "Einstein didn't talk until he was five" "boys develop later than girls" and so on. My son is actually, presently diagnosed with Aspergers, which is a milder form of Autism, easier to miss. However, when he was first diagnosed, he was called "very Autistic" actually the Dr. said "moderate to severe" she said he is dead center of this disease. I no longer consider it a disease. Although, I did go with very intensive ABA (Aplied behavioral analysis), I also, have tried a slew of other stuff all of which have given us various degrees of results. Anyhow, I hope that you do not take ofense to this suggestion. Food aversions such as you describe are very common in children with Autism and it is one of the symptoms that pediatetians who know how to identify this condition look for. My first pediatritian knew nothing of autism, so beware... rather be over reactive and be wrong than wait and lose precious time in seeking the help a child needs. don't hesitate to contact me privately of online. Anyhow, there are food programs outhere wheather or not your son has any other diagnosis. They work, seek, if you need more help I'll try to get you more info.

Good luck.

L. c

I am so sorry you are struggling with this issue. You said you had him allergy tested. Did you do skin prick testing or did you do bloodwork -- RAST? The skin prick testing is considered much more reliable than the RAST testing. I don't know what is going on with your little one, but I wonder if it's possible that your son could be having what is called a delayed allergic reaction to some foods. This is a condition with which many parents are not familiar. My son has this issue -- it's called eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease. PLEASE KNOW that I am NOT saying that this is your son's condition and don't want you to worry that he might have this disorder. Still, as the mom of a boy (now 7) who went a long time without gettinga diagnosis, I feel that I have to at least make you aware that it's out there. Again, not being a doctor, I don't know what is going on with your son, but I do know quite a bit about allergies becuase my son has both "immediate" allergies (anaphylaxis, hives, etc.) and "delayed" reactions (eosinophilic esophagitis). During the time leading up to diagnosis, he had silent reflux, followed by reflux-type symptoms, and then vomiting. Plus chest and belly pain. For more information about eosinophilic disorders, go to www.apfed.org. You can also feel free to contact me personally if you'd like to talk. ###-###-####,

Hang in there!
C.

You should try everything you can. I have one daughter that is 30 and she always ate very well when she was on baby food, when she became old enough to notice, she stopped eating certain foods no matter what i tried. Now she eats no vegetables, the only meat she eats is pepperoni and that is on pizza. Now she is very thin but she did have some weight issues. Her sister eats pretty much anything. But their dad ate the same way when he was young and he eats no meat, or veggies. He lives on Carbs. He is also very thin. Please encourage this little one to eat different things. I have been there and it's hard.
My ex mother in law told me once that an old dr said there was something wrong with his taste buds, because he would actually throw up if he tasted the food.
I hope maybe some of this helps you.

W.,
I had a very similiar situation with my son when he was 3. My pediatrician advised me to ignore his behavior and continue to offer him the same foods that if he got hungry enough he would eat. I think maybe the fact that your son is getting attention about what he eats that may be the issue. I am sure as a teacher you know that with children, be it good or bad attention, attention is attention. If he is maintaining a healthy weight and is not anemic or presenting with nutritional deficiencies then it should be a nonissue. Not only that but with him no longer being the baby maybe it is a way of keeping your attention. In any event it is a point to consider. I hope it all works out. Good luck!

just curious, but has your son been "tested" for autism? a lot of autistic kids have texture issues.

He may have a sensitivity to some foods that don't show up in allergy testing. Ask your pediatrician about this. If they don't believe you, get another one. One of my kids had textural issues and a bad gag reflex, and he was allergic to dairy and soy proteins, which there are blood tests for but hardly anyone knows about them. An occupational therapist may also be able to help with the textural issues.