My Son with ASD is weaning himself off necessary food HELP!!!

[BreTyPres87]

A little background first:My son is 2 on the spectrum , he's completely nonverbal, and when he got his last Infant Toddlers evaluation he was at the 0-3 month level for communication,3-6 for socialization and was just right for his gross motor (theres way more but I doubt anyone wants his whole IFSP ) he doesn't understand much but he can walk, he likes tv and he does play with toys and his brother, now using my mommy expertise I would say he's about a 9 month old level except he walks and feeds himself he is not very aggressive but lately he has been taking a stand on things like he'll defend himself more and whine -normal 2 year old behavior!
Okay so heres my question- he has been slowly weaning himself off of foods he needs, first it was vegetables and i've tried everything Hiding them (for example broccoli and cheese rice he ate individual rice pieces instead of just eating it together!) now its soymilk I don't know whats going on but whenever I try to give him his milk he shakes his head no (this is the one thing he's got down GREAT!! ) and sometimes will swat it out of my hands or if he's standing he'll just run away! So what should I do about this does anyone have any tips on what they did??

 

[bookwormde]

Welcome,

His dietary change is quite “normal” for a good percentage of individuals on the spectrum.

We had an extensive thread on this situation last year if you want to dig back through the threads to find it.

A good multivitamin and occasions blood tests to check that there are no imbalances or deficiencies is about all you can do, this is not a “battle” that you are going to win. One thing to watch for is specific sensory sensitivities since sometimes this can help with making some items more palatable.

No spectrum individual has ever starved, and it is even extremely rare to have serious health impacts from the typical diet so relax.

When you say he is 0-3 months on communication I assume you are talking about verbal communication, since it seams that you “understand” him quite well from other forms. If you have not already it is definitely time to introduce one or more of the visual communication structures that are available.

Do not get to hung up on the evaluating scores since they are designed for neurotypicals and do not do a good job of measuring the strengths and capabilities of our children, your judgment in day to day life is a much better indicator.

bookwormde

 

[KirstenB]

Our ASD daughter is 3 1/2 and about a year ago she went on a 10 day or so strike against her soymilk.

In full disclosure, she's a great eater, but her 10 yr old sister's diet is beyond appalling. I guess our older dd has made me jaded about food, because despite her choice in foods she continues to grow and thrive. I do give both girls vitamins, which makes me feel better!

Back to your son. Our younger dd did go back to her soymilk. I gave her fruit juice and water in the meantime. I don't know what flavor soymilk you use, but the very vanilla has a sweet, appealing flavor. If your son is boycotting veggies, will he eat fruits? Will he drink fruit juice? In short, if Zoe suddenly stops eating or drinking something she previously liked, I try to think of different ways to get the same nutrients in her. I give her a week without the food, then retry it on her.

I think his age probably has a lot to do with it. At 2, they're starting to get independent and find their spunk.

 

[BreTyPres87]

Yeah you know in my rush to get some answers I forgot to mention that he is 35 lbs and in the 98th percentile for weight so he's definitely not starving
I have switched to buying the vanilla only soymilk because he was good with it, and I refuse to switch to chocolate I just don't think he should get used to chocolate milk as a daily item but maybe i'll budge

Yes I meant verbal communication- he hums and flap his arms and if he wants something he'll bring it to me(food nothing else) no pointing or anything but I do understand him most of the time, as far as what he wants because the only time he tries to communicate he wants food, I think sometimes he understands me too its just so hard to say, and lately he has picked up the mmm sound and signing more occasionally which is a big accomplishment!

I will get some more of those gummy vitamins him and my oldest really loved them, almost too much

 

[sdarwkcabemanmy]

I'm with a PP..don't worry too much about it.
My DS (who is going to be 5 soon and not on the spectrum) is a non-meat eater. It's a struggle to get him to eat ANY meat unless it's chicken nuggets. He'll gobble the veggies and fruits right down but the meat? No way. If we have pasta w/meat in it (like Hamburger Helper) he'll eat around the meat or pick it out.

We went to McDonald's for breakfast a couple weeks ago and he asked for a McGriddle because that's what I was getting. He ate the griddlecakes and left the sausage patty.

 

[Schmeck]

For meat avoiders, if you can get them to eat the protein enriched pasta you get 17 g of protein per serving, according to the box. Balance bars also have a good dose of protein.

Can I ask why kids are drinking soy milk instead of cow's milk? Is it an allergy? Studies are starting to show that soy isn't all that great for people either, and can cause health problems in older adults.

 

[KirstenB]

For meat avoiders, if you can get them to eat the protein enriched pasta you get 17 g of protein per serving, according to the box. Balance bars also have a good dose of protein.

Can I ask why kids are drinking soy milk instead of cow's milk? Is it an allergy? Studies are starting to show that soy isn't all that great for people either, and can cause health problems in older adults.

Our daughter drinks soy because she doesn't drink dairy. I had done some reading about casein free/gluten free diets. The casein free seemed fairly easy to try. We tried this when our dd was 2. At that point, it was nearly impossible to get her to attend to anything, even playing. It was like she was on a whole different planet. All we did was try removing dairy from her diet. I didn't tell anyone I did it. At her next speech therapy session, her therapist was amazed at the difference in her. Zoe still has lots of issues, but her attention span improved vastly. Without an attention span, it's almost impossible to get them to learn anything, so this was a huge leap in progress.

I'm not all that tied to soy, but will not feed her dairy milk again. Down the road we could try rice milk, or no milk.

 

[DisDreaminMom]

Have you tried getting those cookbooks that incorporate veggies and fruit in "kid" foods? Deceptively Delicious is the one that I have. A lot of the recipes are very simple to cook and taste pretty good. I have had great luck with this approach. (For instance they put flax seed and veggies into lots of sweet and savory foods). Sure, you might have to cook, but it's still cheaper than buying all that pre-packaged stuff. Nothing out of a box is better for you than cooking it yourself.

I'm with PP's about the soy milk. It's just not that good for you, plus you are setting them up for soy allergies later. Try some almond milk or rice, if needed, but as my allergy doctor puts it, "Unless you are raising baby cows or soybean sprouts, kids just need water". Milk and soy milk, etc. are great for cereal but should not be given in large quantities. Maybe he just doesn't like the soy milk. I think it tastes horrible.

Lots of other things are calcium fortified, so I would be working hard to make sure he's getting what he needs to grow, i.e. Essential fatty acids, calcium, vitamins, etc. If you are serious, I would call a nutritionist and have them make up a "balanced" diet that incorporates options for you to try. Important thing to keep in mind is that lots of vitamins are fat soluble, so if he's not ingesting those at the same time as a healthy fat source, you are just wasting your time and money. Brain development is hinged on correct fat intake and you need to make sure this is a focus of your kid's diet.

 

[BreTyPres87]

my son is lactose intolerant -he'll break out and have a very bad looking diaper if he eats even the slightest dairy, so he's on the soy milk but you're not the first ones to say that about soymilk so i'm gonna go buy a small carton of rice milk to see what he thinks-I worry about his dairy and calcium intake because if he can't eat the basics i'm not sure what to give him this may go away when he turns 4 and is old enough to take a lactaid
I have heard about those books maybe it is time to invest in one -I doubt he's unhealthy but when the dr is telling me he's overweight I want to show her that he's eating balanced he does love fruit but only canned fruit so I buy it in the juice not the syrup

 

[DisDreaminMom]

My DD is 8 and has always had a milk problem. She went straight from the breast to water at 2. Not only did she not like milk, but it also made her crazy and sick. She's still not one to ever drink milk. She'd rather have water or maybe a Sprite every once in a while. Lots of foods have calcium in them. You need to do more homework to see how to get more in him. Lots of juices now have calcium, and while I hate the idea of giving them juice, it's better than nothing. Shrimp has a crazy amount of calcium, so try buying a half pound of shrimp, grinding it up, breading it, and making "fish sticks" with it. Even if you fry it, it's still shrimp. One of the recipes in the Deceptively Delicious book (would give it here, but afraid Jerry Seinfeld will sue me ) is for chicken nuggets with breading that has broccoli in it. Fresh broccoli is another excellent source of calcium. My kids thought it was good. Almonds have a lot of calcium, if I remember correctly. Try making your own almond butter (grind them with a little oil and some sugar for sweetener or buy it ready-made). This would be an excellent snack and help boost his fat and vitamin content.

Sorry to tell you this, but canned fruit is about as devoid of nutrients as you can get. Might as well give him a candy bar. The only fruit that improves while canned is the tomato, because the canning/cooking process greatly increases the lycopene content. That's why ketchup is a good thing!

Will he eat ice cream? Because I have had great success making "sherbert" with frozen fruits and juice. Flash frozen fruits and veggies can be a good substitute for fresh. I just put a big bunch of frozen strawberries and/or mixed berries in the blender with some OJ and it's ice cream time. This way they get the fiber, too. Rice Dream makes a rice icecream, too if you need to cut it with something that looks more like normal ice cream.

By the way, the higher the fat content, the less allergenic a milk product is. Skim milk is the worst, and heavy cream or butter are less likely to cause problems. So it's possible you could sneak more fats into his diet and not make him sick. Is he overeating because his body is trying to get the nutrients he needs from the limited foods he will consume? This is very possible.

It's very possible for a person to be overweight and malnourished at the same time. Empty calories will make you fat. Healthy foods will make you grow big and strong. I'm not saying they can't eat fun foods, but lot's of obese people are so undernourished it's crazy.

One last thing- a person has to try something new like 15 times or something ridiculous like that. Just keep giving your little one a sample of new foods on his plate every night. Just seeing it there makes it legitimate after a while. It's time to break out the creativity here. If he's ASD, he needs healthy fresh foods more than you know. I also have use the "adults only" food technique. i sit at the table and eat something like it's the greatest food I've ever eaten. They practically beg for it, then.

One last thing... Are you making foods that are too complicated for a child's palate? Because my BIL makes these wonderful foods that taste so yummy, except his kids look like Ethiopians. He puts so much spices or adult oriented things in his food that his kids won't eat. He swore up and down that his kids would not eat sweet potato, broccoli or carrots. A little bit of honey with steamed carrots, fresh steamed broccoli, and a baked sweet potato with a smidge of butter and some cinnamon, and his kids ate it and asked for more. They ask for me to cook veggies when they visit my house because I "don't mess them up".

 

[Schmeck]

DisDreaminMom, that's a lot of great advice! The obese-yet-starving scenario is very common with ASD children.

When frying foods (not a good choice, of course), try using extra virgin olive oil, even if mixed with another oil. The EVOO has more of the healthy fats, and less of the bad ones, although the heating process of frying does distort some of the goodness.

It's true that kids will not starve themselves. By offering only healthy, high nutrition foods, a lot of obesity could be wiped out. Studies are showing that heart disease starts when we are young - and even if the child loses the weight when older, the damage has been done.

 

[mechurchlady]

My neurovariant take on food.

Some foods are boring thus why waste your time eating a food that serves no purpose like soy milk is a waste of time because it is not giving pleasure. Where is the pleasure in the food? I love the chicken at Plaza Inn but balked big time even though my body said FEED ME, SEE MORE, FEED ME NOW. It was bland looking chicken with the skin on it and just drummettes. With ketchup I was able to get sweet, tangy and salty notes from the food otherwise I would never eat it but will next time I am in park and have nothing on my schedule to try.

Disgusting food should be avoided at all cost. I recently had scallops two times and forced myself to eat them as they were like egg whites, slimy yucky, sensory shut down. Why should I eat something that grosses me out even if you love the stuff? Us neurovariants can have major sensory problems and will be disgusted and repulsed by anything including odour, taste, texture, size, shape, proportions, touching other food, and colour.

That looks like eyeballs and you aint making me eat that. I read that the Japanese do not like some egg dishes because they look like eyes or whatever. I refused to try the cheese at Ariel's Grotto because it was white like eyeballs and sat in liquid. This leads us to my last example. I cannot eat anything that looks like it did when alive. I love turkey meat but the tendons are gross and I abhor sticky hands after a meal so I stopped eating those turkey legs.

I heard a story and thus you aint making me eat that. It can be a story, something in the media, or something they heard and misunderstood.
Example: Dad has some tabasco covered eggs and offers them to his cousin. He says "These eggs will grow hair on your chest." so now the little girl won't eat eggs as she does not want a hairy chest.
If you knew where milk and honey come from or seen a butchered animal then you might be repulsed by milk, cheese, honey, and meat.

The kid is not getting off of food that is good for it but probably is like me going for the good stuff that is pleasing. OMG that has vitamins and is good for me so I hate it, WRONG, it is more like OMG you want me to eat eyeballs and yucky soymilk.

 

[BeckyScott]

Make sure he's getting a good multi-vitamin. I know, I know, it isn't the same... but it will make you feel a little better while he's doing this.

That's really the only helpful hint I have. DS is the same way, he does the "all-beige" autism diet... except the gf/cf version... we did get him to eat a green bean by bribing him with an Italian Ice... which is just wrong wrong wrong but he did do it. Once.