Raising a Child with Autism by Richman Shira;

Author:Richman, Shira;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781846426988
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2014-11-16T16:00:00+00:00

Food selectivity and other mealtime issues

Before beginning a program to decrease food selectivity, consider the following:

οIs the child currently working on toilet-training?

οAre there other, more pressing behaviors that need to be addressed?

οIs there a skill deficit involved (i.e. is the child not eating certain foods because he has not developed the muscles needed for chewing or because he cannot hold a fork)?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes,’ then it is advised that a food selectivity program be postponed. Food selectivity programs are emotionally demanding and, combined with another difficult program, will overwhelm the child so that neither program will succeed.

If the answer to the above questions is ‘no,’ start to keep a complete running record of the child’s diet for anywhere from a few days to a week. This should present you with a fair picture of what exactly needs to be added to his menu. For each meal, record the foods eaten (including the amount of each food, if possible) and the food’s texture and consistency. After reviewing the data, you should be able to see a clear pattern with regard to one of the following eating issues:

1.The child will/will not eat foods of a certain texture.

2.The child will/will not eat foods of a certain color.

3.The child will/will not eat foods of a certain taste (sweet, sour, mild, spicy).

Table 5.2 – Dietary log

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