Food related sensory issues

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Hi guys!

My 4 year old daughter is undergoing the assessment process and currently had a DX of 'ASD possible'.

She has various issues including food aversions/picky eating. Things are OK at meal times if we get things just as she likes them. She likes to separate her food and only eats certain textures and plain foods from a very limited list.

I know this is all pretty standard stuff but I wanted to ask about something else she has been doing lately. She won't eat/gets very upset and anxious while her baby sister's sippy cup is in view. We have tried different sippy cups but she is not happy until it is hidden from view. I think it may be because she has seen sloppy bits of food on it at one time but she still has the problem when it is clean.

Also she has not been eating or drinking at all at snack time at pre-school and when I ask her about it she rambles on about snot and a girl who has a snotty nose but I can't get much sense out of her.

I was just wondering if anyone can identify with this? Could things that repulse her or things she associates with them be putting her off eating? If so does anyone have any tips?

Thanks!

This sounds similar to my son, but different circumstances. For example: I finally found him a pair of pants he found acceptable (big sensory issues with clothes), but one day he was playing near a kid who had a runny nose who may have bumped into him. Although there was no visible evidence, my son was convinced that the kid got snot on his new pants and never wore the pants again. I explained that washing them in hot water would kill any germs, but this did not satisfy him. He could not wear them again because they were now associated with another kid's snot. He even refused to wear any pants that were the same color (medium blue) of the pants because it made him think of snot/ germs.

There are certain plates he not only will not eat off of, but is afraid of, he can't explain why.

If we accidentally over cook something he usually eats, it could take him months to eat the item again (even when cooked just right).

He also just does not eat at other kid's houses. Again, he can't explain why. It could be something we eat at home, prepared the same way, but he won't eat it at a friend's house.

I think, for my son, these things are a combination of sensory issues, anxiety and routine.

I don't have a lot of tips, but I find it helps a bit when my son feels he has more control. Like, letting him make a list of foods he will eat that week, letting him decide on snacks to bring from home to a friend's. Asking him what would help make him feel more comfortable in the situation, etc.

Thanks Fitzi, yes they do sound like similar situations, I do feel it is the association that is the problem.

My daughter is also like that with certain plates/cutlery and her food has to be prepared just right. Sometimes I have no idea what is wrong with it, it can be the slightest thing.

Thanks for the tips, will give those a try

I just finished my daily cup of green juice. So did my two kids.

We started with green juice for our kids since their young age (2.5?). Juicing is not cheap, though. A high-speed blender is needed (e.g.: Vitamix), so that it can chop through seeds and things like that. Also, because it's uncooked, people in the juicing "cult" tend to favor organic ingredients. Frankly, it's more like "smoothie" than juice. You put in any vegetables or fruits that you have at hand. Lettuce, kale, celery, cucumber, carrot, apple, blueberry, lime juice, strawberry, etc. etc. My wife makes it twice a week or so, and stores it in a jar container in the fridge.

I call it "liquid diet," though it is only one cup per day. Start with whatever your daughter likes to eat, and then gradually blend in new stuff. Nowadays my wife even puts in tumeric powder sometimes. Yes, tumeric. Try that (not in juice) with an autistic child, and you probably trigger World War III. The good thing about liquid diet is that you can blend in anything in any proportion. So the flavor is always very familiar to your children, with some minor twist that gets your children used to new flavors/textures.

My kids don't have food pickiness issues today. They pretty much eat everything. My daughter (7 years old) is already starting to enjoy spicy Mexican food, as long as it is not overly spicy.

Frankly, with people's life style today, juicing is about the only way to get enough vegetables and fruits on a regular basis, so my opinion is: might as well do it.

Thanks eikonabridge, I love the idea but she won't touch anything but water and milk as far as drinks are concerned. It is something I would like to do for the rest of the family though and who knows, she may surprise us and try it one day!

I was very picky when I was young and still am a bit sometimes. The texture of mushrooms,molten cheese, fish and other chewy food made me throw up.