What is Sensory Integration Disorder
Sensory Integration Disorder is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste...
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HELP. Gifted child with SID, only eats junk.
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My youngest dd (the youngest of 4 children, 1 boy and 3 girls.) was dxed with SPD in toddlerhood. Aside from carrying food in her mouth, being "weird" about sounds, music, textures and having to have things "just so" she was above average in everything but her height and weight. She was barely on the charts, being a preterm baby. She insisted on breastfeeding for the first 4 and a half years of her life, which as I am a Lactation Consultant, was fine. (My other children nursed nearly as long and had NO food issues) I figured (correctly) that as long as she was on my milk, and still eating something, she was getting enough good nutrition. The really weird food aversions got WORSE after she weaned.
She no longer holds food in her mouth, but is VERY messy eater for a child who is nearly 9, and doesn't seen to realize where her body is in space, when she is dirty, when she is cold etc. On the other hand, we have what she calls, affectionately "sock issues" meaning she can't stand seams in her socks or clothing, ALL tags must be removed and clothes washed several times before wearing, she will NOT wear blue jeans as they are "hard" and she only wears loose sweat pants, long dresses, and slip on shoes. She looks and acts like the Absent Minded Professor, at age 8. She was talking at around 7 months, full sentences at 12 months, could do all her letters by sight at 22 months, and could read before her 3rd birthday. Still the sensory things persisted. (My oldest child, and my dh have Tourette Syndrome, probably mild Asperger's and my son has transitory tics. Only one child has been spared the movement disorders, but she has MY OCD and migraines.) My youngest, (we'll call her Hilli) also displays some OCD and refuses to eat all but about 7 VERY bland foods. (cheese, crackers, pasta, rice, apples, occasionally chicken nuggets or hot dogs and potatoes.) As a child who started out at around 5 lbs, and wasn't even ON the charts for a while, she "caught up" around 2 years ago, and now she is 97th percentile for weight and 83rd for height. We knew there was a problem, and now she is considered "overweight." She is a beautiful child, I don't want her to suffer. With the Tourette Syndrome, and the stratospheric IQ, (the tests the school gives cannot measure her IQ, but it is far above their limit, which is about 130+) it will be bad enough, but if she is overweight, it will be even worse for her. My dd spent over a year in therapy at Easter Seals between 6 and 7 years of age. SUPPOSEDLY she had "a great" OT, but as my dd's IQ is nearly incalculable, the OT's little "tricks" failed to work. The OT REFUSED to do brushing therapy OR even oral desensitization or processing therapy. She treated my child like she had a 1 digit IQ and wasted 2 years of our time (over a year WAITING for assessment and waiting for a therapist to "open her schedule.") I asked for a new OT, and was treated as if I had asked the OT she had to be put to death. ALL I wanted was for my child to get some help. We have tried ALL the "tricks" things from the cookbooks which tell you how to "hide" food in other foods (she can FEEL the other foods, or taste them if they are pureed) we left her to "grow out of it" (as the OT at Easter Seals said she would do) and she only eliminated MORE foods, and she is NOT getting proper nutrition and is becoming overweight. She is 56 inches tall and weighs 114 lbs. NONE of my children, nor my dh nor myself are overweight, and this is VERY hard on this most perceptive child. This child only eats about 7 foods, which surprised me, as my other children eat well. HELP! We now have to put her on a "diet" (not to lose weight, but to maintain her current weight, while she grows) that requires she get no more than 1600 to 1800 calories a day, and she is now SNEAKING FOOD!!!! I am a nurse, and a maternal infant counselor, and this is one of the most difficult things I have ever seen a child go through via food issues. "Professional help" didn't work. Please help us. Thank you all in advance. I don't know where to turn next. Even her physician is at a loss at what to do now. Posted on 06/10/09, 03:06 pm |
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(Crickets chirping)
Um, any help here? Thanks 
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I don't know if this will help, but I did a marble jar for my daughter. I got a couple bags of marbles and let her decorate an empty soup can (I think) she colored it, glued pictures on it, etc. When I could get her to try a new food, I would put a marble in the can. Once she collected so many marbles she would get a reward. I actually managed to get her to try hamburg for the very first time (at age four and a half) I wish you luck, hang in there mom!
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Sorry that you are going through so much w/ your DD. As an adult w/ SID your DD sounds A LOT like me at that age and now especially w/ the foods I'm the EXACT same way, there's A LOT of foods I can't stand touching my mouth or touching together on a plate and A LOT I just can't bear to eat, as it'll make me gag.
. I hope it doesn't sound harsh but I think it was mean and rude of that OT to say that your DD will "out grow" some of her defenses. As an adult w/ SID I think that's rarely the case in my opinion especially w/ food since it involves both visual and oral stimulation. My OT has tried both the Willbarger brushing as you mentioned and the Nuk Oral brush and they both didn't work. The brushing made my skin hurt like heck to the point of being on the verge of tears and the Nuk brush didn't do anything either. From reading the food list you gave, your DD seems to like to go back and forth between "crunchy" i.e. apples and "stiff" foods i.e. pasta potatoes and rice since they absorb juices/sauces better. Also, since most of the foods you mentioned are white colored w/ the exception of apples unless they are cut up or cheese which could be white or orange depending on which one you buy, makes me wonder if she also has difficulty seeing so many colors on one plate together too. I know I do depending on what I'm eating. Sometimes a sectioned plate like old school t.v. dinner trays help, especially w/ helping to keep certain foods from touching. Also, since your DD has spatial awareness issues and clothing and sock issues ( I have both) I was wondering if you are able to if able to go to a pediatric PT and a new OT ? Although I'm an adult I have a pediatric PT and an OT that deals w/ both adults and kids w/ sensory issues. W/ the PT we are working on a lot of spatial awareness exercises w/ the whole body and w/ the OT we are doing a lot of fine tuning as I call it, such as working on using my hands in space such as for writing and using utensils. I'm also wondering if a pediatric dietitian would also be able to help since they could help you w/ ideas for recipes for a calorie specific diet. Also is your DD a sensory seeker or a sensory avoider? I'm an avoider as I don't like and can't stand a lot of stimulation or noise. Seekers usually like thrills and action. Depending on which she is, a seeker or an avoider, could really help you determine which kind of foods she might be willing to try. For example, more sensory seekers like things that are bland, super spicy or extremely sour and sometimes super sweet because it helps them feel calm. . As a sensory avoider, I can't tolerate those types of foods that I mentioned above b/c it makes me feel sick. I also HATE what I call squish foods; bananas, eggs, cottage cheese, sausage, instant oatmeal, rolled oats, grits, cream of wheat, pancakes, gravy in general, gravy touching food, butter touching bread, bologna, pickle loaf, heated ham and cheese, syrup touching pancakes, canned fruit, canned spinach, potato chips touching baked beans, pot pies, cool whip, jellos, soup and stew--I visually can't take seeing meat touching that much juice LOL, I also can't drink soda unless it has water in it. and the list goes on. For me I like crunchy and stiff foods and some liquids like yogurt are okay since they have somewhat crunchy fruit on the bottom. Yogurt smoothies are also okay too. For example, for me my SID affects ALL five of my senses so since I have a very sensitive nose the best things for me to eat especially in the morning is usually something that doesn't require cooking food that has strong odors like bacon, eggs or sausage. So I usually prefer fruits like grapes, whole strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or even bagels, and waffles but w/o the syrup. With the fruits out here there are usually three or four of one variety so it gives me a choice of picking something that feels stiff or squishy in my hand and can give me an idea if it'll feel stiff or squishy when I eat it. We also have an international market out here where I can buy star fruit which is stiff like cucumber and Asian pears which is hard and stiff like apples. If your DD likes crunch granola--either plain or cereal has helped me A LOT since there are a lot of things I can do w/ it. i.e eating it on yogurt, or ice cream or even plain . I also have a crunch box w/ snacks like 100 calorie pack snacks graham cracker snacks and ritz bitz cheese snacks. As for vegetables, I like some of mine uncooked and cooked For example, I like old fashion string beans since they have a crunch to them and cooked and uncooked broccoli. Since I also have OAS (Oral Allergy Syndrome) I can't do cauliflower, melons, or molded cheeses like bleu cheese etc since it makes my throat mouth and tongue swell and tingle. Since you mentioned socks websites like therawear.com and smartfoot.com do sell seamless socks that might help your DD depending on how sensitive she is. Also, websites like shopathome.com ebates.com and cashbaq.com offer rebates on one or both sites and sometimes couponcabin.com has money saving coupons as well . For me super concentrated fabric softener like Downy works to take the newness out of my socks Lastly what types of foods are she sneaking? It might give you an idea if she is a seeker or an avoider. If she needs the oral stimulation for her mouth I know that there are a couple of chew tubes that seem to help some oral seekers. Also, I heard the book for children w/ SID called The Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz is really good for parents. I've also read the book for adults w/ SID called Too Loud Too Bright Too Fast Too Tight by Sharon Heller. and It explains the different levels of SID in adults as well as a lot of the challenges adults w/ SID face while trying to cope in an overstimulating world. GOOD LUCK :D P.S. I forgot to mention If you are able to get or find an OT and/or PT to help your DD. You could also ask if they have or run any temporary groups/camps or clincs for children w/ SID. Out here some of OTs and PTs do especially in the summer help kids transition from school to summer, then from summer break back to school. Some places here also have groups for adults. The groups are also a great way to meet parents who are going through the same challenges of dealing w/ SID as well :)
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