Hi all.
My 5 year old son is autistic and has some oral hypersensitivity issues. He has had a somewhat restricted diet due to texture preferences, but he eats a balanced diet and better than several NT kids I know. We have been doing an OT programme which has helped with some oral motor issues (e.g. day time teeth grinding).
Anyway, 10 days ago, I think he had a stomach ache (his therapist and I had one a day or two later and the symptoms seem to fit). He refused most food at the time, and has eaten very inconsistently since then and often barely at all (a banana a day, sometimes. Occasionally, a meal or part of one).
I'm pretty sure he is completely fine medically now (he has no bowel problems and seems otherwise fine, except for tired because of a lack of energy). I have ruled out sore throats and toothache.
I suspect not eating much has inflamed his oral hypersensitivity. He is also getting upset when anyone eats near him, which is new.
So far, I have kept the pressure right off and have offered him meals and snacks as usual. I have tried not to offer repeatedly at one sitting or give him too many unusual treats. However, I am concerned that the refusal behaviour will become entrenched and would quite like to tackle it ASAP.
We are an ABA family, so I am prepared to use reinforcers and do it that way. However, I have always been wary of using ABA in a food context. It's so easy to pathologise food, that if we weren't having many problems, I didn't want to fix what wasn't broken (and risk introducing new problems). However, things have changed now.
Has anyone been in a similar situation with sudden food refusal? Any advice?