Healthy diet and Aspergers

Filed under:Behavior — posted by admin on July 3, 2009 @ 8:17 am

Hi there and welcome to this week’s blog post from an internet cafe in deepest, darkest South Wales a day early!

Here’s the article …

Question

My son only wants specific foods. How do I ensure a healthy diet for him?

Answer

Children with Asperger’s commonly have difficulty when it comes to eating a variety of foods. Textures and smells play a part due to the sensory issues they experience. In addition, having too many choices goes against what is comfortable for these kids. Finding a balance will take work and special accommodation.

Kids with Asperger’s have sensory issues that may prevent him from registering the feelings of hunger. Therefore, you can’t rely on your child’s hunger to motivate him to eat. Eliminating the foods he loves will create a true battle.

When you begin your attempts to alter your child’s diet, do so quietly. The less fuss, the less likely it will become a bigger deal than it already is. And keep trying. Success may come slowly, but the ultimate goal is improving your child’s diet. Every little victory will bring you one step closer to the desired result.

The most common trick to entice your child with Asperger’s to eat is to change the presentation. Altering the form of a food may work. If your child likes the flavor of strawberries, for instance, but cannot handle the texture, you could toss them in the blender with some yogurt and try giving him a strawberry smoothie.

Another trick you can try is the element of disguise. Many vegetables can be pureed and added to favorites without changing the taste of the texture of the food. One example is adding pureed vegetables to meatloaf or spaghetti sauce. The taste is overpowered by the favored food and the puree blends in undetected. This is sneaky, but a great way to meet the goal of a healthy, balanced diet.

Finally, create a meal/snack routine or schedule. This will appeal to your child’s need for order and structure. Eventually you’ll be able to introduce new foods without being sneaky. He’ll know that mealtime is approaching and he will be expected to try the foods you have prepared.

“Just Take a Bite” by Lori Ernsperger and Tania Stegen-Hanson is a great book that can help you understand the whys behind the limited diet preferred by children with Asperger’s Syndrome. It describes how the child’s environment, physical needs and sensory problems interfere with eating and offers a plan to correct the situation.

New articles this week at Parenting Aspergers Community…

A lot of people tell me I need to be more consistent in my parenting to my son with ASD. What does this really mean? Can you advise how I can become better at this?

Being the parent of a child on the Autism spectrum can be a tough job at times. There is nothing more demanding than the need to rediscover what it means to parent a child. There are some . . .

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/members/285.cfm

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What are some of the classic ways that parents miscommunicate with their children who have Asperger’s — and how can this be improved?

Children with Asperger’s Syndrome usually have well developed speech and articulation. However, there is much more to communication than having the ability to speak. These children struggle with the physical side of communication. Eye contact, personal space limitations, body language, facial expression, and social and vocal cues are additional elements that make up true communication. These areas are most likely the cause for miscommunication. To improve communication between parents and children with Asperger’s Syndrome, the parents will need to …

http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/members/284.cfm

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Aspergers News Desk

This is a cartoon style news broadcast about the basics and fundamentals of Aspergers An excellent video for showing people who are new to the diagnosis as it packs lots of helpful information and tips into under 2 minutes footage. So a helpful educational tool for family members, friends or school educators. Running Time 1 Minute 57 Seconds . . .
http://www.parentingaspergerscommunity.com/members/283.cfm

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Have a great day,

Dave Angel

comments (8)

8 comments »

Hi I have a daughter who has aspergers and she is 11 years old. I’m having problems with my in-laws who were brought up old school, spare the rod spoil the child kind of thing. They basically think when she has an outburst or problems with what is served for dinner then i should just spank her or punish her and it will get better. I have downloaded the grandparents guide to aspergers from the oasis website but they are still in the frame of mind that she can be punished out of her behaviors. Any ideas on how to communicate to them that is not the thing top do.

Thanks Shannon

Comment by shannon — July 7, 2009 @ 11:24 am
Parents of children with ASD’s who only eat specific brands of foods – you may want to think about making your own foods and putting them into containers from branded foods. That way you can change the content of the foods to add extra vitamins etc. This has worked very well with 3 of the families I work with – the parents made their own yoghurts, fish fingers, pizzas, waffles, sausages, burgers and put them into empty branded boxes and containers. The 3 children accepted these new foods without any problems. Its worth a try even though it takes a bit of work to prepare the food in advance and in secret.

Comment by Wendy Goodbarn — July 7, 2009 @ 11:31 am
My son was the same way. I know my son worked well with a reward system so I integrated the two. Each day, or every other day I would introduce a new food. Let’s say avocado. I would have only two pieces the size of a dime for him to taste. I told him that he needed to try at least one piece and if he didn’t like it he didn’t have to eat the rest. He loves desserts. He helps me pick out an assortment at the grocery store. The reward he received for trying the new food was to pick out his favorite dessert to eat. After about a month of trying new things he picked up at least 5 new things that he liked that I could add to his diet.

Comment by Shirleyanne — July 7, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
my 13 year old boy will not even within a foot of a vegetable or fruit (banana okay). and he only likes pizza, chicken fingers, quesadillas, steak, tacos. Any ideas?

Comment by margot wright — July 8, 2009 @ 7:08 am
hi, my daughter who has aspergers but who is awaitting to see a dr. the school picked it up and did a GADS test that showed she had a very high score. now the school has pulled all help as she seems to be copping with school work, she is being bulled but the teachers just dont want to hear. she is bright but being in the class sends her quite and when she comes home she is so angry and seems to take it out on her oldest sister who is 21.what can i do..

Comment by sam — July 10, 2009 @ 5:33 pm
I noticed the comment on sneaking vegetables into your child’s food. I have done this very thing. I do have a word of warning. My daughter turned out to be allergic to several foods. Some of the foods she is allergic to I would have thought to be very good for her…broccoli ,spinach, lettuce, apples, oranges, eggs, milk, chicken. Do be careful. Find out first if your child has any food allergies before you try to coax them into eating something that they do not want. There may be a reason they will not eat that particular food.

Comment by Tina Pavan — July 13, 2009 @ 2:01 pm
Hi to Shannon. My heart goes out to you. My daughter is now grown but I have been where you are. So many times I have had people tell me she needed a spanking. I remember once at the grocery store she had a fit. The cashier told me she needed a spanking. I went home and put her across my lap. ….Many years later I discovered that she was allergic to formaldehyde. It is in all the laundry soaps, perfumes, air freshners…etc. It gives her an instant migraine. Now I look back and cry that I let someone else bully me into spanking her then. If I had only known. That particular fit was at the end of the laundry soap aisle. Today we buy all chemical-free. When we go to the store we cannot even walk 2 aisles away from the soap without her head hurting. Now she can tell me- then she could not. Around large groups of people there is almost always someone with perfume on which will trigger a headache.

Comment by Tina Pavan — July 13, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
I have a 17yr old boy. He spends all the time on the computer and does not like the sound of my voice so he says! I cannot get him to do anything. I have just found out how to do parent control on the computer, so have cut him off at night as he will be on it till 2or4 in the morning and sleep all day. He will not leave the house. Is there hope that one day he will get a job or am i to look after him as a carer all his life as he does nothing. He is my only son and I have been his mum and dad to him all his life as his father left before he was born and has no contact with us.

Comment by Katie — July 15, 2009 @ 2:25 am