RE: Wife of 30 year old and mom of 3 year old with SPD
Hi Tam. Has your husband looked into SPD. I am 42, and learning so much of why me, and my son, avoid, and seek many different sensations has helped me understand so much. I was thinking about the green veggie thing. They are so varied. In texture, taste. Some are really great, raw, a totally different experience, than cooked. Same with canned/frozen - they have such different mouth feel, and taste. So I (who is far from expert!) would suggest experimenting with the many, many varieties.
Some examples of how I see this work - is my nearly 12yr old. He throws up if he puts mashed potatoes in his mouth, but is fine with pototo chips, and french fries. He loves strawberries - raw. If they are in a milk shake, or ice cream he wont have it, because of the seeds. It seems like there is a slight expectation thing too. Ice cream should be creamy - not have seeds in it! (his automatic thoughts I think) He likes Blueberries raw, but in a smoothy, or popsicle, the skins, and little seeds - he hates. He loves broccoli - if it is steamed just right. He used to like string beans - but a few bad frozen bags, with too many strings on them, and he now is completely skeptical of them. He loves chicken(shredded like) but sprays I cant believe its not butter on it - to make it super moist (which drives me nuts) - no matter what. He used to take a sip of drink with every bite of his foods, but it seems like this accidental find of his, the I cant blv its not butter, makes it that he doesnt do that all of the time with his chicken. I got him to try a great chicken tender, with some coconut in the breading - and he liked it, until I told him there was coconut in it - now he is skeptical of any chicken tenders I make. He loves pineapple - but when it gets in his teeth - its too much for him.
Basically - the food thing is so far more complex than I could have ever imagined. Textures, expectations, smells, flavors, even the temperature of it can be a major influence for my son. I also find that subconsiously me and my son, will avoid things that make us feel sick. Like hot dogs. He used to eat them religiously, but I think he stopped because of heart burn, that I did not know he was having - and he did not know that he was having reflux - it was accidental, that I was complaining about mine, and he was like huh? thats what I feel like - and I was shocked. So we try to avoid things that could aggreavate that too. Veggies can be quite disagreeable with you, even though they are healthy. I am very careful - about when and what ones I eat, and love them all. I love pop rocks, but I cant have them too much, because of how the sugar makes me feel. So I save that as a special sensory treat.
Sorry this is so long. Hope it gives you some ideas - especially with your son - your hubby will have to make the choices to try new things, and maybe if he thinks about the how and why his food choices are what they are, it may spur him to try more! But hey, you said he is healthy, and that is awesome! Welcome to the site!
|