What will you Autism spectrum child eat?

[ecki]

Big question - does anyone else feel bad by keep feeding their kids this stuff.

I sometimes wonder what they think of Kayla's lunches at school. It's ALWAYS the same -- a cup of Tinkyada noodles, a slice of Smart Beat "cheese", and a 1/2 cup of applesauce (oh, I forgot to put that on the list of foods she eats, LOL). And a waffle for snack. Every single day. But it made it easy for them to use the picture cards at lunch since they only had to print out 3 PECS symbols, LOL.

 

[Schmeck]

I sometimes wonder what they think of Kayla's lunches at school. It's ALWAYS the same -- a cup of Tinkyada noodles, a slice of Smart Beat "cheese", and a 1/2 cup of applesauce (oh, I forgot to put that on the list of foods she eats, LOL). And a waffle for snack. Every single day. But it made it easy for them to use the picture cards at lunch since they only had to print out 3 PECS symbols, LOL.

You've got a carb, a protein and a fruit - it's a very balanced meal! I worried about my daughter's lack of protein, and we were able to wean her off of a lot of the junk food/over-processed stuff, but she still takes the same stuff to school every day too - a plain roll, a juice box, a pudding, and a granola bar - but I try to get multigrain/lowfat/no sugar added stuff. She used to bring an apple and/or a veggie, but now she has top and bottom braces and so we have a new list of 'can't haves'... But her hair and nails are growing strong and crazy-fast, so she's getting the protein in some how.

 

[breezy1077]

I sometimes wonder what they think of Kayla's lunches at school. It's ALWAYS the same -- a cup of Tinkyada noodles, a slice of Smart Beat "cheese", and a 1/2 cup of applesauce (oh, I forgot to put that on the list of foods she eats, LOL). And a waffle for snack. Every single day. But it made it easy for them to use the picture cards at lunch since they only had to print out 3 PECS symbols, LOL.

I can relate. DS has same lunch everyday. Every other meal I can mix it up a little bit, but it's PB&j for lunch - every lunch

 

[CindyD]

My Aspie 12 y/o has eaten the same restricted foods every day since he turned 2 y/o. The list is extremely limited and he refuses to try anything new. I once offered him $100 to try a bite of apple and was turned down flat.

Breakfast---Smores poptarts (every day!!) Will not try any other flavor.

Lunch---3 slices of wheat bread...chocolate milk...goldfish crackers and a
Little Debbie snack cake. ( I tried to put the peanut butter on the
bread but the only way he will eat the peanut butter is on warm
toast out of the toaster!)

Supper- peanut butter on wheat toast...crust removed...chocolate milk...
and more crackers.

He will eat oreos..chips ahoy cookies...sometimes popcorn, somtimes chips or
cheez-its and McDonalds fries (must be McDs)

ALL brands must remain the same and he can taste the difference when you try to switch a brand without his knowledge.

He actually had to stay overnight in the hospital when he had his tonsils removed because he would not eat any of the items they said he could have (jello--ice cream--popcicles)..They said he could not go home until he ate and I said "Then be prepared to raise him"

He literally eats nothing else....It drives ne nuts!!!

His therapist said that while it takes maybe 13-15 times to place a new food in front of a child before the child takes a bite, it may take up to 100 times before a spectrum child will try it.

Thank goodness he takes a multi vitamin...

 

[jamesmommy]

Well, DS5 is on the GF/CF diet, and is also egg-free due to allergies. We have attempted ice cream a couple of times since going GF/CF, and it does make a difference in his behavior, so for the time being, milk is a no go. We won't try to add gluten for quite a while since they say it can take up to 6 months for it's effects to leave the body.

He will eat pretty much any fruit, watermelon is probably his fave, with apples and oranges close. He will also do all berries, bananas, pears. He loves applesauce. Vegetables are a little harder, although he will still eat quite a few: corn, asparagus, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, sometimes celery & cucumber, broccoli stems

He eats peanut butter crackers (enerG crackers & skippy peanut butter)
chicken nuggets and fish nuggets (breaded with gf/cf/ef mixtures)
chicken baked or grilled
pork chops, breaded preferably
hot dogs
ham (this is our newest food)
French fries (usually microwave ore idas or Chick Fil A)
GF/CF/EF pretzels
Fritos
Potato Chips (lays or lays stax)
Usually drinks juice, orange or juicy juice, although we are trying to add more water.
He has never been a huge sweet eater, and the diet took away his reeses cups and m&ms (and ice cream), so now the only sweets he normally eats are lollys and gummy things.

We have always tried to make him try anything we were eating, but it wasn't until the diet change that he really began to expand his tastes some.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

First of all, I just want to say thank you Ms. Butterfly for your input. It is reassuring to know that my "picky eater" will make it to adulthood.

You sound just like my mom did when I was a kid!

Secondly, I have a question. Our son ate everything we gave him until he was about 13 mos. old, and that is when he stopped eating. Some of his favorite baby foods were squash, carrots, sweet potatoes (loved the orange and yellows), and then NOTHING! Did you all have similar experiences?

I don't know about this age for myself, but I do know my parents told me that when I was in a highchair, I'd always separate my foods out so they wouldn't touch and all that. I don't know what age that was or if it was all ages (after twelve months, which is when my parents got me).

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Big question - does anyone else feel bad by keep feeding their kids this stuff. My DS eats the same stuff (pdd-nos by the way) and I feel terrible that he's not eating better food (until I try something new and have to deal with him almost throwing up again that is).

I think being a good parent requires you to feel bad (in a healthy way). I'm an adult and my mom still wishes I could eat more things, although I don't particularly care for the way she usually goes about it (the not-so-sly, "I wish you would eat [name a food]," and, "You shouldn't be eating [food I chose to eat] - you should be eating [food I can't eat]," and all that ). (She doesn't understand much about any of my disabilities, no matter how many times I've explained things to her.)

Even though your son eats like he does, he is most likely just fine with it. And, of course, it doesn't make him ill, so that's good, too. Forcing food on a kid with sensory issues doesn't work. (It doesn't usually work for normal picky kids who don't have sensory issues with food, either!) If there is any way to expand the diet of a person with sensory processing issues, personal choice is the way, IMO. Nothing good ever came of my parents' "eat the soup 'til I can see the bottom of the bowl" or "eat three pieces and then you can be done" stuff.

The ways I've expanded my diet to include a few more things is that I chose to do it. It usually was branching out a centimeter by trying something very close to what I can already eat (i.e. a different type of cheese, a different flavour of potatoe chip, a different brand of pizza, a different shape of pasta, etc.). Sure, sometimes I tried something that I can't eat and ended up gagging or feeling ill, but that's the risk one has to take. Children prob'ly don't have the maturity yet to be able to do the whole choice = risk or gain scenerio, but either way will be okay in the end thing. So, if you have to wait a long time for the choice to happen, that's okay, IMO. It doesn't mean you can't oh-so-kindly offer the choice, just so long as it isn't the only choice ("eat it or go hungry") and you don't make a huge deal if the kid refuses. One day, he might just try it. But even if he doesn't, you still love him and that's what really matters.

 

[debbi801]

Let's see, my 6 yr old DS eats...

waffles (homemade only) w/powdered sugar
mini pancakes (Aunt Jemima or home made) w/powdered sugar
french toast sticks (Eggo brand only) w/powdered sugar
bacon
Fruit Loops

slices of yellow american cheese

smooth peanut butter sandwiches (any brand peanut butter, but must be on potato bread, won't eat any other bread)

PB&J sandwiches, must be Welch's strawberry jelly in the squeezeable bottle and potato bread. (Once, they were out of welch's and we bought Smuckers--bad move)

Hebrew National hot dogs
Chicken nuggets (only from mcdonalds)
french fries (mcdonalds or Wendy's)
spaghetti (with no sauce)
Macaroni and cheese
Cheese pizza (but only from one local pizzaria)

ketchup

Dole Mandarine oranges
sliced and peeled red delicious apples (with or without peanut butter)
red grapes
strawberries

Strawberry go-gurt (in the tube)
Oreo cookies
Soft Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies (no other brand)
brownies

Doritos brand nacho flavored chips
water
minute made lemonade juiceboxes

chocolate or vanilla ice cream (as long as there are no bean flecks)

Also, he was like this from the time he started eating at 6 months of age. The pediatrician kept re-assuring us that eventually he'd eat. LOL

 

[BeckyScott]

I sometimes wonder what they think of Kayla's lunches at school. It's ALWAYS the same -- a cup of Tinkyada noodles, a slice of Smart Beat "cheese", and a 1/2 cup of applesauce (oh, I forgot to put that on the list of foods she eats, LOL). And a waffle for snack. Every single day.

Justin eats the same lunch every day too. One hot dog (plain & cold) , some Lays Stax, and pear juice (doctored up). Every now and then I'll send something else, but the Stax are mandatory.

Now that we've got definate answers on his allergies, I'm going to start "sneaking" more. Today I steamed up a bunch of cauliflower and pureed it and put it in little ziplocs in the freezer. I am thinking in the chicken nuggets?

jamesmommy- Rice Dream makes ice cream. It's expensive (of course) but not bad. Tastes kinda like sorbet.

I was surprised how readily Justin went to gfcf. Of course, I just found substitutes for everything I could. But no way do those rice cheese slices taste the same as Kraft! He just eats them and doesn't say anything. I think it really made a difference when we did get allergy testing done- and fortunately he did come back high on gluten and dairy- he's a smart kid and he could read the chart and he understood what it meant. And he didn't really question it. It's come in very handy that he has strong reading skills.

My own personal problem is that it's so expensive! Like last night he wanted some ice cream and I didn't give him much, put strawberry syrup on it, well he was too busy playing with it and most of it melted. So it went in the sink. And all I'm thinking is probably we just dumped 75 cents down the sink! It doesn't sound like much. But $6 for a loaf of bread, when a slice of it comes back in the lunch box all smashed and not eaten, gosh it can turn a Mommy into a Crazy Mommy pretty quickly.

 

[mechurchlady]

BeckyScott:

The waste of money gets to me with my mother. She wants waffles and now most of a box sits untouched. I just had to throw out this week a pound of bacon "it is old and spoiled". She thought the ground beef was old so there went $4. Mom is so hard to please is it is not what she likes so I know that guilty feeling of seeing food go to waste. Mom is not a super senstive person so I can get away with changing food on her and brands usually. I used to eat and eat everything left over in the fridge out of guilt because I could not stand seeing $3 worth of cookies in the trash then $3 worth of candy in the trash.

I hate wasting money but what am I to do.

 

[BeckyScott]

I used to eat and eat everything left over in the fridge out of guilt because I could not stand seeing $3 worth of cookies in the trash then $3 worth of candy in the trash.

Yeah, uh, I found Puffins cereal for real cheap and bought like 6 boxes and neither kid will eat them. So guess who's been eating Puffins for breakfast every day?

 

[lucigo]

My ASD son is almost 5. He is very specific in his foods, all I can say is these are the foods that he considers safe. He won't try anything new or that looks different. He used to only have 7 so we have managed to add a couple!

1. Chicken Nuggets (schwan, Tyson, McD's, Disney (whew!), wendy's, BK, wal-mart)
2. French Fries
3. Tater Tots
4. Subway Turkey and ham with lettuce, tomato, black olives. (I know it makes no sense but ONLY subway, no sandwich at home or from anywhere else).
5. Red jello cups with fruit
6. Bananas
7. Chips (plain, ranch, or cheetos)
8. Sunbelt choc chip granola bars (only)
9. Chocolate cake
10. Choc chip cookies
11. Corn and peas picked out of a schwan bowtie pasta mix (only)
12. Popcorn
13. M&Ms, sometimes fruit snacks, sometimes some chocolate candy, skittles.

 

[Gabrielsbigtrip]

My ASD 6 year old son eats:


Breakstone Blueberry Cottage Cheese Doubles (his staple food). My sister is bringing us some when we go in May since she lives close to DW.

Blueberry Muffins

Plain Cheerios ( sometimes with milk )

Goldfish

Crackers (Saltines squares or Club)

Mini Pancakes and sometime regular size ones

Sometimes Waffles

Soft Pretzels with no salt

Vanilla Pudding

Vanilla Ice Cream

Gummy Multivitamin

Fruit snacks (but not the orange, yellow or green)

Popcorn

Macaroni and Cheese from one restaurant near our house but only theirs. He did eat the Mac n Cheese at Coral Reef last year.

Potato Rolls (we call them Crabby Patties ~ It's a Spongebob thing)

He will eat the bread at Outback Steakhouse (he calls it Brown Bread)

Sometimes a piece of cheese

Bananas

Red Grapes

Sometimes Apples

Only drinks apple juice or white grape juice ( I water it down ) Sometimes I can force a milk or plain water.

When he was born - I breast fed then I bought everything organic and went to Whole Foods Markets for all of his foods. Eventually he narrowed down to the above. He has never eaten meat. He used to eat veggies as a baby but no more.

He has a very sensitive taste and smell and horrible gag reflex. I made him try a sugar snap pea and he bit off the most miniscule piece and he almost vomited!

He is tall and he is strong and is not lacking energy ~ I don't care about not eating meat but I wish he would eat some vegetables. I am thinking of experimenting with muffins and trying to trick some into him.

 

[ecki]

My own personal problem is that it's so expensive! Like last night he wanted some ice cream and I didn't give him much, put strawberry syrup on it, well he was too busy playing with it and most of it melted. So it went in the sink. And all I'm thinking is probably we just dumped 75 cents down the sink! It doesn't sound like much. But $6 for a loaf of bread, when a slice of it comes back in the lunch box all smashed and not eaten, gosh it can turn a Mommy into a Crazy Mommy pretty quickly.

I hear ya there! I just put in my Amazon order -- 1 case of Tinkyada pasta, 1 case of Ener-G pretzels, 1 case of Pamela's Simple Bites Chocolate Chip Cookies. Total Price: $95! And I just ordered all that stuff 6 weeks ago! Plus every 8 weeks I have to order a case of Pamela's Baking mix, which is about $40.

 

[Janet Hill]

My 10 year old only eats:
cantelope
watermelon
cucumbers
cheese pizza
bologna sandwich (no crust)
chicken nuggets (very particluar won't eat all nuggets)
pancakes, waffles (no syrup no butter)
bacon
ice cream
french fries (breaks off the ends don't know why)
steak (only if I fix it)
bread from Outback
whole milk only
flavored water
yogurt (only the neon trix stuff)
hot dog (no bun)
Fruit Loops (no milk)
applesauce (only Motts)
soft pretzels

The most annoying thing is that he sniffs everything before he'll eat it.

 

[ecki]

The most annoying thing is that he sniffs everything before he'll eat it.

Both of my kids have to touch their food--and drinks!--before eating. Kayla will pick up her food and roll it in her hands until she's satisfied. If she doesn't like the texture, it goes flying in the air!

My older daughter was a sniffer, too. Thankfully she outgrew that phase!

 

[BeckyScott]

One thing I'm still trying to figure out, though.

Okay, so I'm "assuming" you all have read all the stuff about gluten and casein and the opiate-whatever's and how the kid is getting their fix off of those foods.

So. When we took Justin gfcf I was expecting this big withdrawl thing. Which #1 didn't happen. But. Take chicken nuggets. He would sit and pick the crust off of them and eat just the crust. And I'm thinking hey, once we change out that batter, he won't be craving nugget crust, kwim? Or cheese sandwiches, he won't be able to get his fix from them anymore.

But it didn't happen. He still picks the coating off the chicken strips and leaves nekkid chicken on the plate. He will still put away cheese sandwich after cheese sandwich until I cannot stand to give him more (because of the cost!). I don't know if he isn't getting the opiate-fix and hasn't figured it out yet, hasn't connected it to the food, if that wasn't the problem in the first place.... what on earth is going on with that. It's like he still craves the gluten and casein, but he isn't getting them, but he *thinks* he is? Does that make sense?

 

[1stluvispooh]

Justin eats the same lunch every day too. One hot dog (plain & cold) , some Lays Stax, and pear juice (doctored up). Every now and then I'll send something else, but the Stax are mandatory.

Now that we've got definate answers on his allergies, I'm going to start "sneaking" more. Today I steamed up a bunch of cauliflower and pureed it and put it in little ziplocs in the freezer. I am thinking in the chicken nuggets?

jamesmommy- Rice Dream makes ice cream. It's expensive (of course) but not bad. Tastes kinda like sorbet.

I was surprised how readily Justin went to gfcf. Of course, I just found substitutes for everything I could. But no way do those rice cheese slices taste the same as Kraft! He just eats them and doesn't say anything. I think it really made a difference when we did get allergy testing done- and fortunately he did come back high on gluten and dairy- he's a smart kid and he could read the chart and he understood what it meant. And he didn't really question it. It's come in very handy that he has strong reading skills.

My own personal problem is that it's so expensive! Like last night he wanted some ice cream and I didn't give him much, put strawberry syrup on it, well he was too busy playing with it and most of it melted. So it went in the sink. And all I'm thinking is probably we just dumped 75 cents down the sink! It doesn't sound like much. But $6 for a loaf of bread, when a slice of it comes back in the lunch box all smashed and not eaten, gosh it can turn a Mommy into a Crazy Mommy pretty quickly.

My DD went Gf/CF almost 4 years ago. She is now just CF and I can tell when she has had some kind of milk product. Unfortunately she will buy her lunch at school even if I pack it for her when it is something she shouldn't have, like cheese pizza. I agree it's expensive I did find soy dream ice cream at Trader Joe's for like $3 so I will take the trip there to get it for her. Unfortunately she doesn't get it often because she binges on it so in an afternoon it's gone and yes sometimes several bowls get put down the sink because she really is full but she must have a bowl of it out at her place at the table Bottom line is she acts so much better on the diet that it's worth the cost no matter what it is.

 

[mechurchlady]

Yeah, uh, I found Puffins cereal for real cheap and bought like 6 boxes and neither kid will eat them. So guess who's been eating Puffins for breakfast every day?

Hand over those Puffins, grrr. I miss cereal and the nearest store is about 15 to 30 minutes driving and I just dont like going that far for an expensive box of cereal.

 

[BeckyScott]

Oh I'll find something to do with them. I think they're pretty good.

I had the same thing happen with the Erewhon rice krispies. The kids loved them, so you know I got on Amazon and ordered 8 boxes. They no sooner arrived than everyone decided they wanted something else.

But I did figure out a trick with the rice krispies-- I puree them in the food processor along with some rice flour and use that to coat the chicken nuggets. Yum yum! Crunchy goodness. That's about the only thing I use them for, but we must have chicken nuggets at least twice a week, so slowly but surely I am using up all that cereal.

I am thinking those Puffins would rock smashed up on ice cream?