Asperger/autistic kids, picky eaters... Help!!!

[missjess]

My son has become THE PICKIEST eater there is. I'm not even kidding... He used to love pretty much everything, then only a few things. Now, NOTHING. He eats nothing he used to enjoy...

I've tried everything, cooking with him, letting him make his own food, play games, feed his favorite characters... EVERYTHING!

I know with him being Asperger makes it hard and he gets very overwhelmed with certain textures and colors... Especially the way food is presented. (A sandwich MUST be all apart, bread, tuna and cucumbers.. NOT all together...)

Any tips? Ideas? ....

All he eats now is: Tuna, french baguette, olives, garlic pickles, raisin, shreddies, bananas, blackberries, bagels with garlic butter... tomatoes, cucumber and tzatziki. NOTHING else. I'm not kidding, that's the whole list. It keeps getting smaller everyday.... Seems like everyday there is something he doesn't like anymore.

I don't know what to do... It's impossible!

 

[valerie1987]

i know what u mean about aspergers and picky eating my nephew has it and he eats next to nothin its very hard to encourage him he was only diagnosed with it at 8 but his mum is makin great progress with him she just tries to encourage him to eat little bits often of what he likes and if he asks for something she tries to get it to him because she knows he wil eat it

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I give my son food in muffin tins. I know this sounds weird lol but it keeps the food apart from touching each other. He does not mind cold food touching so much but hates hot food mixed x

 

[Tegans Mama]

Tegan is a very picky eater too, we've yet to find something that is fool proof and means she always eats. She has a very limited list of foods she will eat (cheese, bread, potato, chips, chocolate, one certain type of beans and sausages, milk, yorkshire puddings, pasta) she is more or less vegetarian except she freaks out when faced with vegetables!

I don't have any advice because we are really struggling too!

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

M will eat:

sausage and yorkshire pudding
chips
waffles
tuna and pasta

thats it on the dinner front x

 

[missjess]

Thank you girls... At least I'm not the only one struggling! We give him vitamins supplements (we have to tell him they are chocolate so he eats them... lol) I used to hide veggies in muffins too, but he doesn't like muffins anymore!

xxxxx

 

[Tegans Mama]

It's a real struggle isn't it and you certainly feel like you are all alone sometimes. Just remember there are people going through similar things all the time and if you need to talk, someone will always be here! xx

 

[Flowermommy]

My youngest is being assessed for Aspergers. She's also incredibly fussy. Foods, textures (she won't eat food with "bits" as she calls them) and how it's presented. She can't have foods touching at all, I tend to put things on different plates for her. She also won't drink from a cup that's only half full. The foods she does like seem to change too, the list shrinks with every week. At the moment im just going with the flow but it's getting more and more difficult. X

 

[Adanma]

didn't want to read and run. My son eats everything and lots of it so I don't have any advice there at all! How difficult! It's good you've got him on vitamins. What about like pediasure drinks or boost or something like that would he drink that? They're almost like milkshakes.

Adanma

 

[missjess]

didn't want to read and run. My son eats everything and lots of it so I don't have any advice there at all! How difficult! It's good you've got him on vitamins. What about like pediasure drinks or boost or something like that would he drink that? They're almost like milkshakes.

Adanma

Brilliant idea!!! I didn't even think of that. Hopefully he will like the taste ! Thanks hun xx

 

[Maze]

I have purchased stickers of my son's favourite disney characters and put them on cans and boxes of food I would like him to eat. For example, 'Woody's Cowboy Stew' 'Buzzlightyear's Space Spaghetti" and so forth.

 

[kelzyboo]

Missjess, your list is quite varied really, my DD will eat hardly anything.
Sadly, all she will eat for dinner is chips, potato smiley faces and chicken dippers (not in breadcrumbs, she won't touch those), she's just started to tolerate mashed potato sometimes and thats it every night! I hate it.
She will eat ham sandwiches and likes some crisps. Won't touch vegetables or pretty much anything else. Its difficult when their diet is so limited, i just offer different foods (not on the same plate as what she will eat, she'd have a meltdown) but i don't force the issue, i hope her tastes change as she gets older and she allows me to introduce new foods.

It seems lots of kids don't like the foods touching each other on the plate, DD can't stand it so we have special plates with seperate compartments lol its interesting to know that this is an issue for a lot of children with Autism x

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I have purchased stickers of my son's favourite disney characters and put them on cans and boxes of food I would like him to eat. For example, 'Woody's Cowboy Stew' 'Buzzlightyear's Space Spaghetti" and so forth.

wow fab idea x

 

[missjess]

Thanks girls for all of your fab ideas and tips!

I started giving him pediasure, which he LOVES thank goodness!! I nearly fell off my chair yesterday because he took 3 bites of my spaghetti bolognese!

xxxxx

 

[Adanma]

yay missjess! awesome! I sometimes wish my little guy wasn't quite so ravenous, but I have to say I'm glad he's not picky. And he's still underweight! Of course he is in constant motion... Just under 4 feet tall and only 42 lbs still! His 4 year old brother is 3 feet 4 in and 38lbs! Thinking of the pediasure myself now... I love the sticker idea as well. My 4 year old is my picky one. How can I get the stickers onto his veggies!? lol

Adanma

 

[JASMAK]

i hear ya!!! makena's teacher was a royal treat about her limited lunches too. we had big fights with the schools and i do believe karma stepped in when the teacher s napped her achilles tendon and she has been gone ever since. just keep trying...that's all you can do. we give makena those chocolate meal replacement drinks too

 

[Tryin4Number3]

My son is 11 and he used to be a really REALLY picky eater! Even from weaning as soon as he moved onto food with lumps he would only eat vegetable soup and yoghurts! He was also a self imposed vegetarian until he was about 5 when he decided he would eat chicken. Even though he still has to have certain meals separated on the plate(beans AND toast, spaghetti AND bolognese) he's actually a lot better now. we don't force him to try anything but now he just randomly decides he's going to try new things when he's ready and his diet is a lot more varied now.

 

[Floridasun]

My son has Aspergers and for a long time he was the fussiest eater. Only a couple of things he would eat. We even saw specialists because of it. He is 9 now and for some reason when he hit 7 he was willing to try little bits here and there and now, well he eats loads. Its is a worrying time though.