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SN children

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Original poster

So impressed with ds1 and school - Hope for those with eating probs!

22 replies

getbakainyourjimjams · 14/03/2006 22:49

Almost passed out on reading ds1's home-school book today.

One bit says

"Big breakthrough this lunchtime, for us at any rate. Ds1 had rice and onions and carrot and baked beans and curry in almost equal quantities and with him doing some self feeding of it into the bargain"

!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the child who has spent the last 4 + years eating gluten free bread, gluten free pizza, buckwheat pancakes and ??? almost nothing else. Honestly, although I have read of more resticted diets, he had the worst of anyone I actually know, if he can do it...... It has taken school a year really to get to this stage but since Xmas we've seen quite a lot of improvement- he started eating cornflakes for example. All credit to the school they've really worked at it, making it easier for us (we just have to generalise).

He had his standard gluten free pizza for tea, but I also did some baked beans which he wouldn't eat himself but allowed my mum to feed him.

Pretty happy home-school book today because he also sat an watched a whole puppet show yesterday [stunned emoticon]

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Original poster

getbakainyourjimjams · 14/03/2006 22:49

Oh and he last ate a vegetable over 3 years ago (maybe 4- can't remember). carrots!

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Twiglett · 14/03/2006 22:51

wow

twokids · 14/03/2006 22:54

that is brilliant{used to be busylizy]

ScummyMummy · 14/03/2006 23:02

He's a bit good that son of yours. Glad he now has a school to match as well as parents to match.

Original poster

getbakainyourjimjams · 14/03/2006 23:03

Were't you buzylizy earlier this evening? :)

Ah I have to go to bed (was up with ds3 with croup last night) - or rather to a matress on the floor next to ds3!

Although we're really not there yet normal eating habits don't seem a complete impossibility now :)

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Tiggiwinkle · 14/03/2006 23:08

That is amazing jj!

How do the school manage to get him to try new things? As we have discussed before, my DS will not even tolerate anything different on his plate. He literally runs off if we put anything new there. How do you get over that first hurdle so they will accept the food being there in front of them?

Original poster

getbakainyourjimjams · 14/03/2006 23:16

I think that's where the school routine came in. They do a lot of work with food. So every day breakfast club- and they all get given jobs eg counting the number of children, counting the plates etc. They also go out to cafes or picnics once a weekish and have breakfast club out and about. And a fixed routine in school for lunch.

They started with ds1's crisps and taking say a tiny bit of baked bean sauce and making a crisp sandwich out of it (baked bean sauce inside 1 crisp), then progressed onto a one bean crisp sandwich, and occasional chicken crisp sandwich etc (tiny bit of chicken). Then onto one bean from a spoon etc. It hasn't been a straight line- lots of stops and starts and retreats.

I knew things were improving when ds1 started to eat cornflakes and milk (!) at home recently. And its just gone on from there really. He may not do it tomorrow, but I do think that overall we are heading in the right direction (or school is).

But definitely their whole routine around food helped a lot - but that's VERY hard to do at home.

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Saker · 14/03/2006 23:22

that's great news and I hope it continues.

I wish I could say the same! DS2 who has generally been a good eater and never made too much fuss about food has refused his lunch every day at school for the last week and now we are back on half days because he can't stay the whole day without any food inside him .

Tiggiwinkle · 14/03/2006 23:29

It is certainly interesting. The CDC suggested we try the "one pea on the plate" routine but DS just freaks out if we put anything on there he does not like. Perhaps the "crisp sandwich" might be worth a try!
Our DS does occasionally surprise us by suddenly eating something previously refused-he ate an apple for the first time in ages the other day! But it always has to come from him and he does it when he is ready, if you see what I mean.

Davros · 15/03/2006 08:45

What great news! You have galvanised me.... to make the school try harder! It is on our agenda to tackle (again) but our meeting got cancelled yesterday. DS had his first overnight respite last Saturday and yesterday was eating Special K out of a bowl , could be related? AND a puppet show!

heartinthecountry · 15/03/2006 08:59

Great news Jimjams - definitely looks promising

FioFio · 15/03/2006 08:59

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macwoozy · 15/03/2006 09:07

That does sound really promsising, lets hope he keeps it up. I know there is nothing more exasperating that trying to get a child to eat something different when their diet is so restricted. My ds has been on the gluten/casein free diet and boy was that hard work.

This is currently one of my major hurdles with ds getting him to try anything new. Every day at school he will only have his drink and one cheese stringy, nothing else. I don't know how he can last the day,I don't want to take him out at lunchtimes but without the pressure and encouragemnt to eat at school I know he's not going to improve.

Original poster

getbakainyourjimjams · 15/03/2006 09:23

ds1 always did that suddenly will eat something he's previously refused thing, but would also drop things equally quicky (like apples- used to eat 2 or 3 a day then overnight dropped 2 years ago, and now shudders if one goes near him!).

Yes he's still gluten free - which is fine- the school are good about that, when they go to Sainsbury's they buy a gluten free cake mix to go in the trolley then go back to school to make it. I send in some staples (cornflakes, crisps etc) but the school kitchen provides everything else.

At mainstream we did have problems especially when they brought in healthy snack time because there was suddenly nothing he would eat and he would go through the entire day eating nothing. I had to insist they fed him something he would eat.

I think the key really has been the whole way they approach food at his school. Learning to eat is a whole big area of the curriculum (incorporates going shopping, eating in cafes, making toast, spreading butter etc) so it becomes a big part of the routine of school and certain things are expected of you (counting people, setting the table, cleaning up), and that just kind of builds a familiarity I guess. And always small small steps.

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coppertop · 15/03/2006 10:04

The school sounds fantastic! :o

Tiggiwinkle · 15/03/2006 10:32

It is all so different to what happens in mainstream isnt it? Despite my having asked that the support staff are made aware of his problems with food and requested that they keep an eye on what DS eats, in reality no-one seems to pay any attention at all. I find the amount he eats (he has packed lunch)varies in direct correlation with how stressed he is in the school day. If he has a supply teacher, for instance, his lunch will have hardly been touched. But no-one will have noticed and I get no feedback about it.

mizmiz · 15/03/2006 20:47

Oh brilliant Baka.
What heartening news.
I think you are spot on in identifying all these food related routines as being the key to increased tolerance.

I spend a lot of time in work trying to persuade staff that snack time for example can have so much potential in terms of choice,communication,sharing, and experimentation.
Serving each other,offering food around,requesting/refusing (and that choicebeing respected) laying out requisite number of plates,dishes and so on.

Message seems to be getting through although there are one or two hatchet faced individuals who thing there duties begin and end with coralling everyone and slamming down a beaker of 'juice'.
Similarly could weep at some missed opportunities in cooking-eveything seems to come out of a packet.
Still,we soldier on.

PS Also had much success with creating our own sequence cards to break down a task such as making a s/wich or (if appropriate) hot drink.

Original poster

getbakainyourjimjams · 15/03/2006 21:16

I'm amazed how much national curriculum (which of course they are obliged to teach), they manage to fit in around life skills (which of course is what the children need to learn). They of course combine attributes with snack time (i want yellow drink/I want big whatever etc), as well as all the counting etc. Oh and reading ( names have to be put down in the correct place).

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FioFio · 15/03/2006 21:19

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Original poster

getbakainyourjimjams · 15/03/2006 21:20

:) We are!

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mizmiz · 15/03/2006 21:21

Exactly!!
It really isn't that hard if you have someone with some logic and imagination.Thus,geography involves negotiating yourself successfully around the school,history is reflecting on wat you did yesterday (picture diary) and where you sat at lunch.

One of 'our' teachers is brill at this-currently finetuning a manual on how to allow pupils with pmld to access the curriculum.
I'd love to have a classroom to myself for a year or two.

JakB · 16/03/2006 08:34

Jimjams, that's such WONDERFUL news!
Mizmiz, can you come and work in my DD's school?

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