My son just doesn't eat. When he was younger, he constantly said he wasn't hungry, even when he hadn't eaten in more than a day. It took way to long for someone to listen to my concerns and get him diagnosed with SPD. He has many other traits as a sensory seeker, but the most concerning for me was always the refusal to eat. We've come a long way in the year since he's been diagnosed but we're still far from him having a healthy diet. Now he'll at least eat 3 meals a day but they are very limited meals. There are only a handful of foods that he'll eat and he, for the most part, refuses to try new foods. Even the foods he does like to eat constantly change without warning. For breakfast, he might eat half of his small pancake. Lunch is half a PB&J sandwich which usually fills him up before it's all gone. Dinner is the worst, it's always a battle trying to get him to pick something he wants to eat and he rarely finishes it. He's terribly underweight, almost 5yrs old and still wearing 18mo old shorts. I've tried all the "picky eater" remedies and none of them work for him. He doesn't care how "fun" it looks or that he helped me make it or that he gets a prize when he's finished it all. Has anyone else had eating problems with their SPD child? Any suggestions from people who actually understand that he's not your typical picky eater?

We were taking him to OT when he was first diagnosed but no OT in our area takes our insurance (Medicaid) so we had to stop taking him after only a few sessions because we just couldn't afford it. I'm trying to do this all on my own and I really just feel like I'm not getting anywhere with him.

Hi, it must be scary when he doesnt eat. My son is 12 now. I really did not know that he had many sensory issues, until they became a lot worse, right about when he turned 8. No matter the age - it is scary when your kid wont eat. My son is majorly picky too, not typically, like yours. Getting them to eat is quite the challenge - and boy is it upsetting when they suddenly dont want to eat the one thing they seemed to be living on. I dont have any answers. When my son has not had something for a while that he used to eat, I try to offer it up again after a few months, and what ever turned him off, may be forgotten. Sometimes its just not cooked right, off a little in the flavor. I know what its like to be so frustrated, so tired of the same stuff, over and over, if you are lucky to find something. Then there is the crap we get from others that its our fault, and we need to be harder, and force things - you know. Ultimately we want them to be healthy and eat too. Since I am sick with FM, I finally decided that if he has to have a bowl of cereal, dinner, because I am not up to the daily dinner challege, than so be it. Breakfast for dinner - pancakes, waffles, egg sandwiches - I do that sometimes too, and he does like that - when it happens. I started to buy rotiseree chickens, because he loves them - and they are already cooked - so I can stretch that out for days, for him, and the rest of us can eat more of a variety. I guess your little guy, has shrunken his stomach too - eating so little. That happens to my son too - then suddenly he will eat a ton of the thing he likes, and a stomach ache happens. I dont force the eating time much at all when it comes to dinner, or at all on weekends. Most dinner nights for him are shredded moist chicken, rice, cinnamon applesauce, and bread or biscuits - occasionally I will stink up the house with steamed broccoli(which he likes, but the smell kills me, I have SPD too), or cut up a ton of strawberries for him. This past week I offered up green beans again - first time in a few months, and he ate a bunch. Yey!!! Does your sons doctors offer any suggestions of why he may not be eating. Or a way to gradually build his belly up to having a bit more food that he is willing to eat?? I have heard of kids that need more help with eating, more than the trying to find the right foods. Like I said - no answers here. Any thing I put you have likely tried. I hope you get some answers soon! Keep us posted.

The SPD Blogger Network has many, many blogs about SPD children with eating issues. One of my sons, now an adult, was a very picky eater when he was a child. There were maybe 5 foods he liked. For a while I tried making up a kids menu and before shopping I'd let him pick some meals for the week. When he became a teenager, it became increasingly difficult to get him to eat breakfast or lunch. The only thing he would agree to "eat" was a Slim Fast shake. Many people told me how terrible it was that I was letting a skinny kid drink a Slim Fast shake, but my motto was something is better than nothing. Smoothies are an excellent source of nutrition for picky eaters, and there are hundreds of recipes on the net. If you can find a smoothie or milkshake recipe he likes, add a little pea protein powder to it (I buy mine at IHerb.com). Start with a very small amount (1/2 tsp), and if he tolerates it a couple times, try a teaspoon, and so on. My daughter who has SPD, but does not have eating issues, tolerates a 4 oz. smoothie with a tablespoon of pea protein powder. Any more than that and she says it tastes funny. We also add a little to Kraft Mac & Cheese to up the protein.

I can relate! My son is 4.5 years old, and it took me two years to convince his pediatrician, OT therapist and GI doctor that he was not just a picky eater. The proof finally came when there was a period of a year where he did not grow, his eyes were dark, he was sick all of the time, etc. He rejected all meats, all vegetables and all fruits. He only ate bread, crackers, PB&J and mac & cheese.

Our solution was one year of private therapy with a ST. When that didn't work, we went to more extreme measures and got into a pediatric feeding disorders program. I live in Atlanta, and there is a place called the Marcus Autism Center. Children do not have to be autistic (my son is not) to be accepted into their feeding program. We spent 8 weeks there, and they taught my son to eat. It is a very intense program, but it works. We were thankful that our insurance covered most of the cost - it is very pricey, but it saved my son's life!

My advice is to keep talking to his doctors. Don't settle for them saying he is a picky eater. Picky eating is only eating a few things from each food group. A feeding disorder is not growing/eliminating major food groups/etc. I had to say that over and over again. It took some time and a lot of patience, but we finally found the help we needed.

(10-01-2012, 12:58 AM)lakeegan Wrote: My son just doesn't eat. When he was younger, he constantly said he wasn't hungry, even when he hadn't eaten in more than a day. It took way to long for someone to listen to my concerns and get him diagnosed with SPD. He has many other traits as a sensory seeker, but the most concerning for me was always the refusal to eat. We've come a long way in the year since he's been diagnosed but we're still far from him having a healthy diet. Now he'll at least eat 3 meals a day but they are very limited meals. There are only a handful of foods that he'll eat and he, for the most part, refuses to try new foods. Even the foods he does like to eat constantly change without warning. For breakfast, he might eat half of his small pancake. Lunch is half a PB&J sandwich which usually fills him up before it's all gone. Dinner is the worst, it's always a battle trying to get him to pick something he wants to eat and he rarely finishes it. He's terribly underweight, almost 5yrs old and still wearing 18mo old shorts. I've tried all the "picky eater" remedies and none of them work for him. He doesn't care how "fun" it looks or that he helped me make it or that he gets a prize when he's finished it all. Has anyone else had eating problems with their SPD child? Any suggestions from people who actually understand that he's not your typical picky eater?

We were taking him to OT when he was first diagnosed but no OT in our area takes our insurance (Medicaid) so we had to stop taking him after only a few sessions because we just couldn't afford it. I'm trying to do this all on my own and I really just feel like I'm not getting anywhere with him.

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Is your pediatrician on board? He sounds dangerously malnourished and I would discuss options with the Dr. My son was a failure to thrive baby due to unhealthy lungs and received a feeding tube at 4 months old. Due to sensory issues and not being bottle fed or nursed he never learned and then wanted to eat. The only thing that helped him was behavioral feeding therapy. At 1st he would literally throw up by just touching a piece of bread. It took months to get him to eat pureed applesauce (yes, we had to puree applesauce because it had to have no texture). At 4 years old we had to actually teach him how to chew. To make a very long story short, we needed professional help. We had to switch health insurance to get a plan that paid for it but he is now 6, off the feeding tube for 2 years now and doing well. He won't eat everything other 6 year olds do, but our lives don't revolve around his eating issues anymore. His G.I. did a great job explaining how his subconscious fear of food and years on the feeding tube made it so his mind didn't even understand the issue of hunger. I believe his sensory issues made the touch of food and feel of it in his mouth very scary as well. Get online and look at feeding clinics, especially ones that come into your home. If insurance won't cover it then contact a local college in the area; most of them have behavoural therapy programs that train students specifically on feeding issues. Find the director of the phychology dept. and inquire. Many of those student that are in the graduate programs need case studies (aka, your son) to prove themselves on and they are overseen by their supervisors. Being that your son already eats, albeit limited foods, with the right therapis on board, it should progress quickly. OT's, by the way, are often non-supporters of behavioral therapy so just be aware that OTs are not behavioral therapists. Good luck and hang in there.

Make the meal not so much of a "meal."

Like, perhaps make it a "We're going to watch a movie, and have some ice cream! (or pudding, or yogurt, or anything that he will accept.)

A distraction plus the food, then it's not all about the food. Because then it might feel more like a chore than a good "Add on" to something good.

I feel for what you're going through (ALL of the above posters), but it is SUCH a relief to know I'm not alone!!!

My sweet girl will eat bread, pasta (so long as it's pasta colored and not red or green or whatnot), chicken nuggets and cheese. No fruits. No veggies. Little to no protein.

Our journey with SPD isn't just beginning, but we've JUST recently gotten professional help and had a Doctor point us in the direction of SPD (we're still awaiting an "official" diagnosis).

I don't have any advice I just wanted to thank you guys for sharing your experience and helping me feel not-so-alone.

I never realized food issues could be SPD. When I was younger I didn't like the texture/colour/smell of food & felt sick after eating so I stopped eating & lost 30lbs. I was told I had an eating disorder but never wanted to be skinnier, just couldn't eat & feel good.

thank you for your post! It is nice to know someone else is having the same issue with food. My daughter is 2 1/2 and she has five foods that she will eat for a meal. Snacks are all carbs and most meal items are also. Our OT just told us about a book called Food Chaining. I have not picked it up so I don't know how good it is.
I am just now after 6 month fight with insurance get food OT because doctors just kept telling me she is fine just small for her age.

You're singing my song ladies!!!

There was a comedian, Lewis C.K., who did a bit where he talks about the frustrations of feeding a toddler. He talked animately about how we, as parents, have a biological NEED to feed our children, and yet they consistently refuse to eat. I used to laugh my BUTT of during that bit (of course, I only had my oldest daughter at that point, and she was "average"). Then I birthed my SPD daughter......

And if one more parent tries to tell me "When she gets hungry enough, she'll eat" my head may very well explode.

My daughter is in the second grade. One of the OLDEST kids in the second grade, and is the smallest by a LONG shot. Her teacher has noticed. Her Dr has noticed. My best friends daughter who is a year older than mine now towers over my DD.

Food frustration is something we are all too familiar with at this house.

Her specialist suggested that I simply put something on her plate that she wouldn't normally eat (along side foods she WOULD eat, of which there are about 4). She advised me to place the plate in front of DD and say "You don't HAVE to eat these green beans, but they're here if you change your mind." And not say another word about it. She said I may have to do it for weeks and weeks before she would even consider trying.

I laughed in her face. She obviously doesn't know my daughter.

I am BEYOND proud to be able to say that DD LOVES green beans!!!!!!! Of course, it took the better part of 2 months for her to try one. And she only ate one. Then two. Then three. Now there are no complaints when she sees them on her plate.

She still goes 2 days without a decent meal sometimes.

But I force myself to look back at where we were 6 months ago. We ARE making progress. SHE is making progress.

This area of SPD has proven to be the most difficult for me. I feel your pain. Don't give up. Celebrate the victories and work through the pitfalls. Good luck to you and best wishes!