Food issues. Son ASD nearly 4yo

[Onedayatatime13]

Hi my son has a diagnosis of ASD and is non verbal. For nearly 12 months now he has ate one food a pasta dish that he just picks the meat and onions out of and nothing else. He has the same food for every meal. Since tuesday this week hes stopped eating that and wont even look or touch it. A few weeks back he had started to eat garlic baguette again. So now he is having a few slices of a garlic baguette a day and not one other thing. His drinking has also declined. He loves milk and will only drink milk and only from his bottle and would constantly request it. But he is only drinking bare minimum of this now will accept it a couple of times a day. For maybe past 2 days. He has a slight cough but seems well in himself although screamed half of the night and woke up with a nose bleed. Im in despair with him at the minute what else can i do? Anyone similar experiences? I cant even think of anything similar to the garlic baguette to try him with offered alsorts of foods etc he wont try anything! His pasta was the one food he would always eat.

If he's coughing, screaming half the night and having nosebleeds, I think I would call 111 and leave trying new foods until he's feeling a bit better.

You have my sympathy though. DD has ARFID but never to this extent although she did once survive a week in Jubblys when she had chicken pox.

You need to see your GP and get a referral IMO as that is very serious food restriction. Are you able to get a vitamin tablet into him at all?

Could DS have a sore throat? If he was in pain would he be able to communicate with you?

Keep going with offering DS’s safe foods and drink he will eat/drink and book a GP appointment to discuss a referral for an ARFID diagnosis and support.

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto He cant communicate verbally at all. and despite being up half the night he actually isnt presenting unwell hes suffered with tonsilitis a few times in the past 18 months and its always very obviously what is wrong. We attended childrens ward last night as he had stopped drinking. But he did start to drink as soon as we arrived on the ward. Dr did checks and couldnt see any cause throat looked fine no temp etc. and sent us home. Also he has nose bleeds now and again we have always been told not to worry unless doesnt stop he maybe has 3 or 4 a year they arent big usually just wakes up with dried blood visible @itsmyp4rty we do sneak a vitamin in his milk although sometimes if he tastes it he wont drink and this past day or so i have been scared to put it in incase he refused as he isnt drinking the amount he usual would either. @BlueBrick i did email his paediatrician yesterday and it was her that called me after clinic yesterday evening and said he needs to go up to childrens ward due to lack of fluids. But once they picked up we was sent home. I will try and get in touch with her again on monday regarding a referral. It just feels like he has decided against his one and only safe food and theres no going back. I dont wana cause distress keep pushing it on him but so worried Hes super energetic bouncing all over as i write this. No idea how he has so much energy with no food inside him.

I really feel you as my daughter has a limited diet aswell, she lives on cheese spread sandwiches, bananas and jacket potatoes. She is also autistic and non verbal. She won't try new foods she won't even look at them if i tried. It seems your ds will only eat beige foods. Have you tried a brioche roll, my dd has brioche swirls with the chocolate chips in, not all the time but she will have a try here and there, will he eat a banana? Jacket potato try it plain or add a little grated cheese. You have to persist and keep introducing those foods, don't give up at the 1st time he refuses. I know how difficult it is as i go through it myself, its so stressful so i really do feel for you. Ive never forced food onto my dd but i have put the food in her mouth if she turns her face away and she realises its actually nice. I did this with the brioche rolls, she wouldn't even look at it but i put a tiny piece in her mouth and she ended up eating the rest of it all by herself. I wouldn't give up on the pasta i would re- introduce it at some point, same with the garlic baguette. You could try a flat bread maybe with a little bit of margerine on so its not dry, anything beige i would try. Even a pack of crisps quavers might work, doe he have problems with certain textures crunchy or wet? It's all about persistence and re-introducing. My dd's safe food is a banana, when she's poorly thats all she eats for 3 or 4 days. Sometimes she won't eat a banana she will throw it on the floor and be like this for a week or so, then i re-introduce it and she will eat it again. I really hope things get better for you and your ds x

Thanks for your reply @Knab88 the strange thing is the food he has loved for the pasta 12 months is full of sauce actually sometimes id had to add more as it was saucy enough for him. I think that fact his diet has dwindled down to this one tomato pasta dish we was always at risk of him stopping wanting this he has refused everything else since. Like i said maybe a couple of pieces of garlic bread in the last 5 days is all he has eaten and some milk. We will keep trying i will give the roll a try. He is the same as you dd in that way he wont even look at the food. Ive tried putting on his lips or in his mouth but he has a meltdown. He loved yogurt but wont take now so i put abit of his lips in the hope he would like it and remember how much he likes put didn’t work for us. Its really taking its toll on us all as a family now. Appreciate the advice though xx

Just wanted to add a note- we have been told on my many occasions including this week at hospital that he has very large tonsils. Hes had tonsillitis multiple times and tonsils remain large. We saw ENT who offered to remove them to help his sleeping. DR over the weekend asked me if i had ever been told his tonsils are very large even though no sign of infection. Has anyone had this with a child were tonsils have caused an issue with eating due to size not pain- as currently does seem in pain but they are very big? Hes non verbal so just cant tell me. And wondered of anyone had experience of this with or without ASD.

Hi again, my eldest daughter she's 20 now had tonsillitus a lot when she was young. I was always told she had large tonsils, but never had tonsillitus enough throughout the year for her to be able to have them removed. She still has large tonsils but its never affected her eating or appetite. She has always had a big appetite and eats almost anything. She doesn't have asd like my youngest. Her appetite was only affected when she had a bout of tonsillitus or if she had a virus with a sore throat.