white polkadot — Feeding Therapy

Feeding Support for Children With Autism & Sensory Processing Disorder

Feeding Support for Children with Autism & Sensory Processing Disorder

Brielle’s mom, Marissa thought Brielle was going through a typical picky eater phase at first. Like most toddlers, Brielle had strong ideas about what she wanted to eat and what she would rather not.

"She was a really good eater at first, but then around two-years-old, she just stopped eating. She would only eat blueberries and drink milk—no water, juice, or anything else. As a result, she started having a lot of stomach issues."

The situation took a frightening turn when Brielle got the flu.

“We ended up taking her to the ER with the flu. We couldn’t even get her to take a sip of water. She was so dehydrated she was hospitalized for almost a week. That was when we knew we needed to address the issue right away. This wasn’t your typical toddler pickiness.”

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This wasn’t your typical toddler pickiness.” “
When a child doesn't eat or drink, it's frightening.
”

Addressing Regression in Speech and Feeding

“We contacted M Street for assessment and hopefully feeding support. In addition to regression in her feeding, we'd also found Brielle was experiencing delays and regression in her speaking, as well. We got her in for behavior analysis, and they helped us discover her Autism diagnosis.”

"We'd seen this slowly escalate. She had a lot of sensory stuff going on, including sensitivity to food—the textures, flavors, colors, and everything. She was experiencing a lot of rigidity around eating. She stopped eating certain foods, then more foods. As a parent, you accommodate at first, but then it became more severe over a short period."

Brielle’s mom worked in mental and behavioral health herself, so she was very open to engaging in any supportive care to help Brielle feel better and progress.

“We did a lot of research and reading to figure out which interventions were best for Brielle. We became more confident as we learned about feeding support, and my husband and I really became Brielle’s advocates.”

Marissa and her husband had researched many different activities to help Brielle feel more comfortable with different foods. They were excited to receive input and guidance from their M Street therapist, Kaillie Wark, Speech-Language Pathologist, MS, CCC-SLP. Kaillie was well versed in working with language and speech delays, as well as feeding delays and concerns.

“When Kaillie came to our house, I was already trying a bunch of different activities for feeding support. It was great because she and I were able to collaborate and tackle the issues together. She really became my partner in crime. We were dying food, coloring pictures of food, making menus, using ice cube trays, and having picnics and tea parties.”

“It wasn’t only about coming up with ideas for Brielle, but about forming a partnership. How was I going to implement the techniques throughout the week? What were our goals? What was the process? I felt like it was such a collaborative effort. She understood there were only 24-hours in a day, and if she was only there an hour a week, we needed to find methods we could incorporate into our normal routine."

"I followed every single suggestion from our therapist, and Brielle has done great!"

Finding Creative Approaches to Get Comfortable with Food

Like all M Street therapists, Kaillie worked with Brielle’s family to find activities to fit into their day-to-day routine seamlessly. She worked to address Brielle's specific sensory discomforts and aversions.

"Brielle was struggling because she hated toothpaste. Brushing her teeth was a miserable experience for the whole family. At our therapist's suggestion, we got a book called Brushies that had four little finger brushes. Instead of using an electric toothbrush in her mouth, we talked about it. We let her play with it with water. We brushed Brielle’s little brother’s teeth while she watched.”

“We moved Brielle’s kitchen set out into the living room. She had an apron and dishes. We’d have her help us prepare food. We’d smell it and touch it. We never forced it, but showed her plenty of different ways to interact with our common family foods. There was a point where she only liked yellow cheese. So we started adding a little bit of white cheese to it. We tried melting the cheese and putting a little on her favorite goldfish crackers. We shredded a block in front of Brielle.”

Brielle’s therapist helped her family come up with many different ideas to help Brielle build comfort with feeding.

"I would tell her what I was doing already, and she'd piggyback off it. She brought in an outside perspective, and so we were able to see a lot of progress. We tried eating foods in other places. We’d carry containers of snacks with us to the park. We’d put bowls out around the living room.”

“Kaillie had us string different cereals onto a string and create necklaces out of them. Brielle loved it! She really enjoyed the different shapes and textures. We did a lot of play with foods like whip cream and pudding. It was actually a super fun time, and it didn't feel stressful for me at all. It felt like we were playing."

Brielle's therapist explained the number of times Brielle interacted with food and increased her exposure, the more comfortable she would become with it.

"She helped us make mealtime fun. Like all toddlers, Brielle loves the movie Frozen. So we’d do all blue foods. We’d hold a coronation. We’d pretend to feed Anna and Elsa. It became about touching the food and experiencing food in our lives in ways other than simply eating. If Brielle didn’t want to eat food, she only had to touch it. She could touch it with her lips but wipe it off with a napkin. This helped build up her comfort level so much.”

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She helped us make mealtime fun
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Helping Brielle Navigate Her Own Path

“Brielle has a very stubborn personality. If she doesn’t want something, she won’t have it. We knew force wouldn’t work. We simply presented the foods and activities to let her find a way to interact that felt comfortable for her.”

Marissa explains Brielle has made incredible progress, but she needed to move on her terms.

“We couldn’t get her to drink out of anything but a single tiny sippy cup. I must have ordered a hundred different water bottles and cups, hoping to find something she’d drink out of. But nope, she didn’t go for anything we offered.”

“Then we attended a local pool party where they were giving out these silly plastic cups with a straw. Brielle instantly started carrying around her new free cup. She had to find it on her own, and now it's her favorite to drink out of."

"When a child doesn't eat or drink, it's frightening. Brielle was getting ill. She was moody and exhausted. Family dinners were so important to me, and my husband and I wanted to pass that tradition down, but it's so hard when your child can't participate and goes to the exact opposite extreme. You can't get away from food, and when it's a constant cause of stress, it impacts everyone."

The family’s M Street therapist helped them put it into perspective. While they weren’t going to get Brielle to eat everything, the goal was to get her to find foods she enjoyed so she could participate in family activities. Like most toddlers, there were foods she didn’t enjoy, but they were able to expand her horizons and get her to consume a healthy variety.

"We were worried about her protein because she wouldn't eat any meat. Then one day, she saw my husband eating a peanut butter granola bar and requested one. Now she loves them. She found peanut butter puffs she loves. So she gets her protein in other ways."

The important part is realizing each child is different and progresses at their own pace.

"My nephew will eat steak but won't touch broccoli. Brielle, on the other hand, loves 'trees' (as she calls them). She loves peas and carrots, bell peppers, watermelon. She'll eat an apple as big as her face. It's leaps and bounds from where she used to be. Yeah, she doesn't eat chicken and pizza, but we'll go to McDonald's, and she'll eat ice cream and French fries."

Now that Brielle has finished her time with her M Street therapist, her family continues to enjoy mealtimes together. They’re amazed at Brielle’s changes and breakthroughs.

"She's expanded so far from milk and blueberries. She loves cold Spaghetti-o's, she loves applesauce. I carry those items with me. If we go to a restaurant, she'll get fries or an apple and enjoy the foods we brought. But the real difference is she's able to sit at a restaurant with our family. The sensory used to be too much for her to process. Now, she goes in with books and bubbles. On a recent family vacation, there we were sitting and eating together. Yes, there were bubbles all over the table, but we walked out feeling accomplished.”

Marissa advises it's essential parents realize that their child is unique, but they aren't alone.

“When you’re in the thick of it and going through these challenges, you often lose sight of the progress. When we had our final meeting with our therapist, we had time to look back and reflect. Brielle is a completely different child in only a few months. She wasn't speaking when she started therapy, and now, she won't stop. Her vocabulary and pronunciation have grown."

"As a parent, you feel so alone sometimes. I remember feeling like I had done something wrong as a parent. I felt like I was the only one struggling with feeding issues. But now, I realize that many families go through this. It's okay to be a little different and progress through your journey. Ultimately, this is Brielle, and we just have to find out what she's going to respond to. We're so grateful for the help, and she's really thrived."