My son is 3.5 y/o and has been working with a speech therapist for about 8 months. He has not made a ton of progress, and for meals he is very limited to a handful of options. He eats no vegetables, and very little meat. He is at a normal weight and is very healthy despite his very selective eating (as we usually work with him to find something he is able to eat). He has sensory reactions when presented with foods he will not eat. It causes him to shut down and get very sad. I have gently tried to just have it be on his plate, but not make him eat it. I am very pro AP, but my DH is less so. My ds has some other sensory issues that we are working with an OT on.
My issue is, we were referred to a child psychologist that runs a feeding program to help kids like my son. I think our speech therapist feels like she is not really getting anywhere and wants to try something else. So we met with this doctor, and their feeding program is super structured, not allowing the kids to say no...not letting them get up from the table until they eat their goal of x number of bites. There is some rewards too like playing with this toy or that toy after you meet the goal. They don't force feed them, but they make it very uncomfortable to say no, not allowing them to use the coping mechanisms that they have in place when a certain food stresses them out. She said they will sit with the spoon up to their lips and follow their mouth till they finally take a bite, up to an hour if need be.
DS had very severe reflux as an infant till he was about 18 months old, and she attributes that combined with the fact that he was a little premature to most of these issues. I want my DS to have a normal relationship with food, not fearing food or any situations that can cause issues like family gatherings, school, peer gatherings. She told us that she doesn't believe he will get better without some stronger intervention. I want to equip him to cope with life going forward, but I just have this pit in my stomach as this is obviously NOT AP...and shows him no respect.
Any input would be much appreciated
Thanks!
kelly
My issue is, we were referred to a child psychologist that runs a feeding program to help kids like my son. I think our speech therapist feels like she is not really getting anywhere and wants to try something else. So we met with this doctor, and their feeding program is super structured, not allowing the kids to say no...not letting them get up from the table until they eat their goal of x number of bites. There is some rewards too like playing with this toy or that toy after you meet the goal. They don't force feed them, but they make it very uncomfortable to say no, not allowing them to use the coping mechanisms that they have in place when a certain food stresses them out. She said they will sit with the spoon up to their lips and follow their mouth till they finally take a bite, up to an hour if need be.
DS had very severe reflux as an infant till he was about 18 months old, and she attributes that combined with the fact that he was a little premature to most of these issues. I want my DS to have a normal relationship with food, not fearing food or any situations that can cause issues like family gatherings, school, peer gatherings. She told us that she doesn't believe he will get better without some stronger intervention. I want to equip him to cope with life going forward, but I just have this pit in my stomach as this is obviously NOT AP...and shows him no respect.
Any input would be much appreciated
Thanks!
kelly
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