Picky Eater caused by Apraxia and Texture sensitivity

[Goldbergd]

My son now 8 has difficulty eating new foods AND even foods he likes but are made differently then he is used to.

Breakfast and lunch are usually fine but we like to go out to nice table restuarants and lot of the signature restuarants like California Grill don't have normal kids food like nuggets, fries and grilled cheese.

I keep hearing how great Disney is with special request if I called ahead would they get foods he likes to eat or will they only change how they cook food?

What we normally do is feed him in the room before we go and let him play his nintendo while we eat. It works well but it would be nice if he could eat with us.

Oh, and BTW I've had plenty of parents tell me they would force him to eat new foods. I usually let them take him to dinner and throw up on them in the restaurant. After that I don't hear anymore advice.

 

[Belle4mygrl]

My son now 8 has difficulty eating new foods AND even foods he likes but are made differently then he is used to.

Breakfast and lunch are usually fine but we like to go out to nice table restuarants and lot of the signature restuarants like California Grill don't have normal kids food like nuggets, fries and grilled cheese.

I keep hearing how great Disney is with special request if I called ahead would they get foods he likes to eat or will they only change how they cook food?

What we normally do is feed him in the room before we go and let him play his nintendo while we eat. It works well but it would be nice if he could eat with us.

Oh, and BTW I've had plenty of parents tell me they would force him to eat new foods. I usually let them take him to dinner and throw up on them in the restaurant. After that I don't hear anymore advice.

I am not sure what restaurants you plan on eating at but I think and would like to hope the chef would be accommodating.

Have you checked out AllEars menu for dinner?

It seemed alot of buffet places we ate at had nuggets, mac & cheese, and potatoes. Chefs de france and Le Cellier had pizza. Ohana , GG, and LTT had a set menu but it would not hurt to call ahead.

have a magical time!

OH JUST REMEMBERED, GG had chicken nuggets, fries, and mac & cheese for the little ones. While this isn't fine dining but it does give you a sitdown restaurant.

 

[bookwormde]

Sensory sensitivities are very real, I am sure I could figure out something to let the “make them eat it “ people appreciate a very nice simulation of it.

I have always found the WDW chefs were very accommodating. I have an aspergers child who has the “typical” dietary limitation that many of our children do (very similar to what you describe except that he decide at 5 to be a vegetarian for moral reasons (who does not eat vegetables).

I think at times they “run next door” to get things from the CS restaurants.

bookwormde

 

[Schmeck]

My younger daughter has a sensitive gag reflex, so I understand where you are coming from, but she has learned to handle new foods and textures. It has taken a lot of effort from all of us, but there were times when I just offered her what the restaurant had on the menu, and if she tried a few bites, we left it at that. I knew she wasn't going to starve if she didn't eat a complete meal right then and there, and by the time she was 8 years old, we had gotten past most of her issues (except for meat - that one is still a strong gag reflex) and she can go out to restaurants and find something on the menu she will eat.

That said, WDW is very accomodating, especially for children. We've gotten plain pasta, grilled cheese, plain salad, and plain white rice offered to us when the waitstaff notices that my daughter isn't eating the food she ordered from the menu.

My mom had to learn the hard way to not force her to swallow the food if she had a gag response. "Oh, just swallow it already" got a ruined Thanksgiving feast as my little one puked all over the table. I always let her spit it out onto her napkin when she couldn't swallow it.

 

[Goldbergd]

My son has gone through years of eating therapy and then speech therapy due to his apraxia and then add the texture issue/gag reflex on top of that its been a huge struggle.

He basically can now eat:
pancakes
waffles
pbj (lives on this)
nuggets
fries
deviled ham sandwich
grilled cheese
some cheese pizza
cheese quesadilla
lays stax (only these chips)
chips ahoy soft cookies (only the soft ones) and no other sweets.

We used to make him drink ensure everyday but not anymore now he takes vitamins. He is also small so we need to make sure he eats.

He tells me when he is 10 he will try more foods. In the meantime we usually stay in timeshares with a kitchen and eat breakfast and lunch in. If we want to go to a restuarant that doesn't have something he will eat then we feed him before we leave or bring him a pbj sandwich.

 

[tkbbmom]

I think I have your ds's twin

Last time we went to WDW we had no problem with the children's menu items at the nice table service restaurants. I didn't even realize then that WDW was accommodating. This time around I've been concerned bec of the fact that 11 now ds is considered an adult. But WDW has assured me he can eat the children's menus ---have plain pasta, etc. just to let them know.

At times I've found it frustrating ---ds really wants to try other foods and the past couple years we've made HUGE strides. We've worked with a psychologist who specialized in food issues (who knew there was such a person). I am now thrilled that he will eat ckn fingers or ckn nuggets---used to be only yogurt, Kraft mac n cheese, Oscar Mayer beef hot dogs, and certain pepperoni frozen pizzas --oh and white bread and butter. I still worry some about his weight ---but at 11 he's 5'2"/85 lbs and wears a mens size 9.5 shoe ---so I think he's growing fine without eating a "normal balanced diet".

I love your response to others ---wish I had thought of that at some point. I just ignore others now. When they can walk a mile in my shoes and still be sane I'll consider their parenting thoughts with a grain of salt ---until then their thoughts aren't worth my concern.

 

[christymarie]

I wanted to give a heads up. My 6yo with moderate/severe classic autism has food issues and I was told that we could request specific things at CS. When we were at Pecos Bills I asked for a grilled cheese sandwich for him. Turned out that the way they make grilled cheese is to put two hamburger buns together upside down with cheese in the middle and grill it. Needless to say that was not the "typical" grilled cheese my DS was used to and he refused to eat it.

Make sure when you are ordering you know exactly what you are getting.

 

[CityGranola]

I just want to say I am frustrated that people tell you to just make him eat it.

My oldest is 4 and has had so many food issues - he has severe food allergies and sensory processing disorder. Many of the foods that are safe for his allergies - he can't eat because of his oral sensitivities. And, vice versa!

I'm sure you've tried it all, but we had a lot of success (at the advice of the ped and OT) putting a new food on his plate but it just had to be on the plate - he didn't have to do anything to it, then next time he had to touch it, next time he had to smell it, next time at least put it in his mouth (he is ALWAYS allowed to spit food out, but it has to be discreetly in a napkin or at home we even have those Dixie bathroom cups.) By the 10th time, he will usually at least swallow something.

My understanding is Disney is very accommodating, so I hope you have fun!

 

[mcco5543]

Another one with Arnold Chiari Malformation due to Spina Bifida. Very sensitive gag reflex triggered by textures. I know for a fact your child can't just "eat" whatever. He will puke!. Try to go to the buffets where they have both kid/gag friendly food and interesting foods for those without gag reflex issues. 2 to try would be Boma and Chef Mickey's ....about a million billion choices. Have fun~

 

[Wee Annie]

Hi!

I was hoping someone could briefly explain to me the connection between apraxia and food issues? My middle daughter (9) has apraxia (was diagnosed at 3, when absolutely no one could understand a word out of her mouth). I always thought apraxia just had to do with language processing issues. And then I saw this thread. My daughter also is my absolute pickiest eater, has severe texture issues, etc. Is there a connection? I just have always chalked it up to picky eating (I am picky and have severe texture issues, even as an adult). She is extreme. but I was too as a child (then again, I had severe language issues as a young child and probably have mild apraxia, they just didn't diagnose it then -- I just went to speech therapy to learn how to speak at age 3).

Do tell! I am curious about what the link is!

Thanks so much!

Ann

 

[CityGranola]

By no means am I an expert as my child does not have apraxia, but I believe the connection lies within the muscles - it takes certain muscles to forms certain words and those same muscles could be used for eating certain things. There may be a disruption in the motor planning area.

We know more than one family who have a child with apraxia and that same child has a lot of food issues - aversions, "pickyness", etc. I certainly think there's a correlation.

 

[Wee Annie]

That makes sense. I know she has verbal motor control problems. So perhaps she has had an excuse all these years for being what we've always called "ridiculous" about food? I'll just put this in the bad parenting column of items I've accumulated over the years....

 

[CityGranola]

Eh, we all have our moments, right? When you know better, you do better nd now you know!

 

[iluvdiscruises]

My son now 8 has difficulty eating new foods AND even foods he likes but are made differently then he is used to.

Breakfast and lunch are usually fine but we like to go out to nice table restuarants and lot of the signature restuarants like California Grill don't have normal kids food like nuggets, fries and grilled cheese.

I keep hearing how great Disney is with special request if I called ahead would they get foods he likes to eat or will they only change how they cook food?

What we normally do is feed him in the room before we go and let him play his nintendo while we eat. It works well but it would be nice if he could eat with us.

Oh, and BTW I've had plenty of parents tell me they would force him to eat new foods. I usually let them take him to dinner and throw up on them in the restaurant. After that I don't hear anymore advice.

Good luck with your trip!!! Here's what we did for my son who was 6 when we went...same diagnosis...apraxia, + major, major sensory issues...

Breakfast: Most days, we ate in the room or when we first got to the parks...I was master of PB&J. We did stop at a grocery store when we first picked up our rental car and this was a lifesaver. I got the same whole wheat bread he is used to from home, PB, Jelly, bananas, etc. We also brought cheerios in ziplocs everyday. I also brought the Gerber "stars"...not sure the real name, but they are in the baby aisle...when my son was a baby, he could not handle a cheerio (the first one down, pushed on him by a well-meaning friend who told me "all babies can eat them!", resulted in him puking all over her kitchen...he could eat these stars just fine though. I also brought lots of snacks to get us through the day, bananas, grapes, etc. Some days for lunch, we got him chicken fingers/fries if that was an option. We did one TS, at Akershus for breakfast...he had cheese wedges, a cinnamon roll and grapes. They did offer to make him whatever he wanted, but he found OK options there. We also found pizza at a few locations, which he can eat. Disney is very accommodating...just tell them as soon as you get there (or ahead if you have reservations) and they are happy to help you! Not sure about your son, but my almost bigger issue in a place like Disney with my son is that he needs to eat when he announces it...not 1/2 an hour later. I would have been lost without my cooler bag!!!

 

[Debbie-TN]

I can sympathize with the kids. I have always been a texture eater. Still as an adult I have trouble with textures of food. I'll never forget the time in elementary school, the day before we got off for the Thanksgiving holiday. I bought my lunch that day and they had turnip greens. The teacher said I couldn't leave the lunchroom until I ate them. I was crying and telling her that I couldn't eat them, but she insisted. Well, as soon as I stuck those leaves and stems in my mouth, everything came back up. I hope she learned her lesson. I have a horrible gag reflex. I even gag when I brush my teeth. I want to pass this tip along to those that have trouble at the dentist office with those horrible, horrible bit wings. Have the dentist rub the inside of the mouth and tongue with the numb-it stuff or the spray if they have it. I works wonders.

 

[LMC]

Same issues here except my son was not diagnosed w/ apraxia (although he is still in ST at age 14 and you can't hardly understand him) but he does have dyspraxia and major SID. Tonight we just went thru an episode at dinner where he would not eat spaghetti because I did not make it as usual (with ground beef pieces) and used meatballs. Same ingredients it just looks different!!! Anyway, he had a different dinner than everyone else (as usual). We always eat CS when we go since that is all my two boys eat anyway. I am thinking of getting the dining plan for our next trip but I think it would be a waste.

 

[Jackie Psarianos]

My autistic, ten year old son is very selective with his foods. We visit Disney World annually and we never have a problem, we just alter our buffetmeals to accommodate my son.

For example: Next summer we'll visit 'Ohana's for breakfast because the offerings include foods he'll eat.

Also, you can either call Disney Dining ahead of time to make special requests for your son's dietary needs. We also speak to the waiter and even if something such as french fries are not on the menu they always bring them to us....if we ask.

On our most recent Disney land and sea cruise, Beach Blanket, which is the buffet restaurant for breakfast and lunch, did not serve french fries at lunch, which I found inconvenient because I had to send my daughter over to Goofy's to get a plate of them and then join us again at Beach Blanket. I spoke to a Cast member and the next day there were french fries at the buffet counter. It's stuff like that, that makes Disney apart from all the rest.

Have a great trip!

 

[heatherfeather24]

We don't have the same issues as you, but DS (3) has life-threatening food allergies. Another food option that works for us and may work for you is to bring food in to the park with you. Disney has been very accommodating to us with heating and/or plating food that we have brought in ourselves. Like others, we have also found the chefs to be very accommodating in making dishes that meet our son's needs. BUT, sometimes it's easier to just stick with what we know -- if his ham sandwich and little microwave container of pork and beans will make him happy, I'm more than happy to cart it into the park in a little lunch-bag style cooler.

 

[Minniemama350]

I feel for you. Been there and done that and will never completely be free of it, but it can get better.

DS12 has the same issues. When he was 4, we took McDonald's (used to be in Epcot) into Le CellierYou should have seen the looks

Now that we have had major sensory and aural motor work done, we don't have to do those things anymore. He still can't eat everything and is concerned that new foods might set of that vomit response, but he can eat at most restaurants without asking for something different.

Two weeks ago we were at the 50's Prime Time and our waiter hassled him about not eating his greens. DS took a bite and swallowed with no issue! DH and I simultaneously held our breath during the exchange. When it was over we just laughed. He did it! The waiter will never know why we thought it was so great!