Sudden refusal to eat even favourite foods, boy with ASD. Please help!

[runikka]

Hi all

We are majorly stressing about Daniel's eating habits. He has never been one for lumps and always refuses "naked" vegetables/meat favouring them to be concealed as mash/chopped in mash potato and gravy. He also refuses any real solid finger foods..even crisps n chips. However, one way or another he was eating a balanced diet using above measures, us feeding him and occasionally having to force the first mouthful in so that he could taste check it. Normally this would result in him eating the rest albeit us continuing to spoonfeed him. At nursery he would eat most foods (even raw whole fruit such as banana which is a big no no at home) and even feed himself so we felt we could cope if it was a little more challenging at home.

However, for the past three weeks he has refused all hot meals including those at nursery. Our portage worker has advised not to stress out and let him eat what he wants. However, his staple of Jam Sandwiches and Cheese on Toast are also being refused now.
All we can get him to eat is a variety of cereals with milk and occasional cheese on toast. As we were working towards a gluten/casein limited diet this doesnt' help but at the moment we just have to get something into him.

We are really worried as he was starting to make progress with foods at the beginning of the year. Is anyone in a similar situation or been there and ever regained some meat and veg into the food. Any suggestions as to how we can hide some fruit in his cereal.

Many thanks
Kirsty

Your DS sounds, when he is eating, like our DS2 with food. We have to hide stuff and force the first mouthful of some foods, too.

I buy the packs of Organix baby fruit purees and mix them in with breakfast cereals and sometimes add them to savoury dishes to sweeten them, slightly. Most of the other brands are little more than thickened fruit juices with a token amount of actual fruit, but the Organix ones are all fruit added to a base of apple puree so contain a decent amount of fibre. I like them, myself, in my own porridge - they're really delicious.

Have you checked that there's nothing like an ear infection affecting DS's appetite? Sometimes being under the weather can make everything taste like crap.

runikka, that does sound very worrying, I hope someone comes along soon with more advice for you.
I have no experience at all in this area, so I apologize beforehand if what I am going to say is completely mad!! But I watched a TV program a few weeks ago about a little girl who hadn?t eaten anything from birth (absolutely nothing) she just couldn?t, in fact, she didn?t drink a drop either. During the program they taught her to drink.
She was getting all the nutrients she needed through a special drink (sorry I don?t know the details). She was a healthy looking 7 or 8 year old (despite her special needs).
I am not saying this is a solution in the long run, but maybe while you get DS?s food sensitivity sorted you could ensure that he is getting his nutrients through a drink like this. If you explain the situation to the doctor maybe they could agree to this?

Sorry can't be much help here but the nutritiounal drink thing sounds an idea. How old is he? Its just that with both of mine (one with SEN one not) both were eating everything as babies and then went very restricive at about 2 years old and my eldest would have just eaten pasta or sandwiches had I let him. Could it be he had a funny experience while eating (bit his tongue or had a bit of gristle or something) and its put him off. Or, like my youngest, has realised that not eating really gets your attention and makes you worried?

It is very worrying - I know I've got very wound up about my DS2 who has weeks when he seems to live off air.

Does he like cooking/getting messy? This has been the way into my eldest - he now eats loads of stuff (even ate mushrooms this weekend for the first time EVER - its taken 13 years ) because he likes cooking. Cause mine likes stirring (spinning - aSD again) he has happily made scrambled eggs and things like white sauces from 4 years onwards. Even if he doesn't eat the things he makes (carefully decorated a rainforest cake with pineapple - just as carefully picked all his bits off!) it removes the 'fear' factor and shows that other people enjoy it. Sorry. can't be any more use but good luck.

I've recommended this book before - practical rather than theoretical help and a range of real-life stories.

Things that helped with us (not ASD per se but zero social/communication and some real eating issues) - working out when most hungry and making that the most nutritious/challenging meal of the day (shepherds' pie for breakfast, memorably) - going with texture fads and trying to work real food into them - quesadillas, toasted sandwiches, things in puff pastry are hits at the moment - keeping up the variety (we introduce 1 new dish a week: on average that seems to keep up with her getting bored of stuff)

We get loose frozen fruit from the farm shop - blackcurrants and raspberries need no prep: add a little honey and nuke till the honey bubbles and they disintegrate; then stir into breakfast like weetabix or porridge. And every day she has a multivit/mineral ground up and added to her brekkie yoghurt. That way, any "real" stuff I get into her after that is a bonus.

Many thanks for your replies.

Daniel is three. To be honest he is toileting well and regularly , possibly slightly snuffly indicating a cold but showing no ill effects from it and has generally been happy until we introduce his dinner when all hell breaks loose. The thing is he was making real progress with food and we wonder whether something we tried was a step too far. He can also eat quite a lot at breakfast so I am now wondering whether it could be giving him a sore tummy or overfilling him to the point he really doesn't feel like the hot meals. Nursery have been filling him on milk when he refuses meals aswell.

Breakfast he is at his hungriest so we could try to change the meals around a bit...anything to get something nutritious.

We are starting him on Omega 3 and probiotic supplements. He has had them before but we found he kept leaving bits of milk/cereal so we werent sure he was getting the full dose.