to think this food advice for 3 yo from paediatrician is ridiculous?

[JustCleo]

3 yo DD is going through the assessment process for autism at the moment. One of the many things she struggles with is food. She has never eaten hot food and will not touch it. She has a very limited range of foods which is reducing weekly because she gets fed up of the same things repeatedly. The only things she will eat are:

Cucumber
Peppers
Grapes
Pepperoni
Cheese
Crackers
Crisps
Cake

At her last paediatrician appointment I mentioned how her diet has become more restricted than previously (she used to have 4-5 more foods she'd eat) and the paediatrician didn't seem to think her diet was that bad. She said to give her cake and crisps more often to keep her weight and energy levels up Currently she has them 2-3 times per week maximum.

Aibu to think this is crap advice?

No she didn't lose weight. At the beginning we kept her weight up with cake and milkshakes etc and slowly shifted over. I'm not saying it wasn't a massive battle, it was. But then it was always a battle to get her to eat anyway.

There were times she refused something as she could tell it was altered. Me and my sis worked so hard to find alternatives that produced the same texture. I found that shop cakes didn't always come out exactly the same anyway. Sometimes a batch would be drier and she'd refuse that. Or you'd find something she liked, the recipe would be changed or it would be discontinued.

That was to Needasockamnesty

I should say she started off underweight and and poorly nourished and when the cake crisps line didn't really work - she was bloated, lethargic and her face was grey, that my Dsis took her to Prof Brostoff.

You really haven't experienced an autistic child with restricted diet, if you think that would fly.

If you want to take issue with her diagnosis from the National Autism Unit at the Bethlem Royal that's up to you.

OP didn't say "cake" generic, she said ONE type of bought cake. You are living a very different experience if you think that equates to a cake with "almond/pistachios, bananas, apple, carrot, beetroot, or pineapple" in it that is more appropriate for a fussy eater

It's not a question of putting almonds or pistachios in a cake - but using ground almonds or pistachios instead of flour. You can also add grated beetroot or apple for example without altering the texture. I found as long as the texture was pretty much the same, it had exactly the same icing, and importantly was in the right box.

This is nonsense and while all children should take vitamin supplements for optimum nutrition, I don't believe anything more than that is required.

It's quite common for ASD children to be deficient in minerals and they may not get enough from standard supplement to correct it. Equally some sources are better absorbed than others. We couldn't get my DN to absorb zinc until she tried drops, for example.

If the op changes cake in the way that yseulte describes I would imagine the likely outcome would be the child stopping eating cake at all. It certainly would be for Ds if one of his staple foods was changed like that.

Something looking wrong can be enough to stop him eating it, let alone changing the taste!

Yseulte, so advice from a 'nutritionist', who may well have purchased their qualification on the internet knows better than a consultant paediatrician?
Ok-aaay.

With the greatest respect because I believe you feel you have expert knowledge

No idea where you get that from. I'm just sharing my experience like everyone else.

My DN started out with a list of 10 foods she would eat. It's simply not true to say that her food restriction was 'mild'. There is really nothing that her food issues have in common with 'fussy eating'. That's how she ended up underweight and permanently under the weather. If it hadn't been so serious my sis would never have put so much effort into finding solutions.

However, what works for one child doesn't work for others. The dietary management was in conjunction with many other therapies, including a brushing programme - which I think can also be credited for helping with food aversion although I'm not quite sure how. (Another poster commented similar above).

DN turned out to have problems with digestive disturbances apparently not uncommon in ASD, and addressing that also helped her food aversion. It's possible that some of the food refusal was coming from the digestive discomfort as much as the taste and texture of food itself. But I've no idea.

With the greatest respect because I believe you feel you have expert knowledge, the strategies you describe would not work for MANY autistic individuals. There is NO WAY you could add nut flours in the way you describe and pop the home made cake in a box to "fool" most children with restricted diets

One of my kids used to go bat shit crazy every single day it took 4 months to work out why, he could identify a perticular chair in a room full of 200 other identical chairs just by sitting on it for a few seconds.

No way would something put in a box fool him. He's 17 now and still has a food list with 11 items on it.

He's been to some of the most highly regarded therapists and specialist units in the country seen countless nutritionists and has a support package worth millions yet what do you know, a blender and a bit of magic with ground almonds has not cured him.

getyourself

I'm talking about a qualified nutritionist who worked closely with a Professor (of immunology in this case) for many years, and written books with him. Her advice and his was far more helpful than standard NHS advice given out by bogstandard paediatricians. Which was basically - fill them up on cake and chocolate and hope for the best.

We had to have dd on a high calorie and fat diet as she desperately needed to gain weight. Didn't matter how at that point - cake, chocolate, whatever.

Avocado

You can use it to make high calorie chocolate brownies which are actually really nice.

If you really need weight gain/energy good advice, look to google for cystic fibrosis recipes for children.

Yseulte if it was as easy as you describe most of us would have sorted it by now. The fact your niece responded is great, but most of us here who have children with severely restricted diets have actually tried to subvert and switch foods

I never suggested you hadn't. And I never said it was easy, in fact I said it was a massive battle. It took a long time, it was exhausting and I was only doing it for 3 days a week. My sister also has 2 other children to deal with.

zzzz

My experience leads me to know it's not unique. I know personally other children whom this approach has helped. I'm not saying it would help all cases, I highly doubt it. From what I've seen, what helps individual children is particular to them as each is unique. But that's not to say it's not worth a try - I never thought this would work.

I'm not interested in what you're a 'fan' of, that's entirely your own business.

If I've made it sound easy that's my fault, it was a battle.

Oh I see I don't mean we were battling over food itself but that it was an uphill battle to try and try and try to find versions of food that she would accept.

If this is the only food she will eat then I would continue.
It wont hurt her. She does need to keep the calories up.
Just carry on doing what is right for you and your daughter.
Crisps and cake wont hurt.

best just ignore it then because you can't really control what the rest of us choose to "share"

That was rather my point to you. Being snippy and passive aggressive isn't going to stop posters like me sharing their experiences simply because they're different to yours and you don't approve of them...

I'm not sure why you're trying to engage in some kind of competition as to who has worked the hardest to overcome behaviours. I was clear I'm talking about my niece and I was only with her 3 days a week. It doesn't compare to the 24/7 input required of a parent. But if you're implying my work with her was confined to food, you're wrong.

I recommend the book 'can't eat, won't eat' by Brenda Legge OP.
Very helpful.

Another one suggesting you look up ARFID. (Waves to ineedmorepatience)
I found it really helpful to google what the reqs were for a typical child (carbs, protein, fat, salt, vitamins, calories etc) Then plot a typical week's intake against this. It put my mind at rest and also stopped me worrying about lack of variety. (Another fruit and veg refuser here)
Let your child eat the extra cakes and crisps. You are not letting them down by doing this.