Picky Eater and RSV

by Terri Stallings
(New Haven Il)

My 3yr old grandson had RSV when he was 4mos old and was on breathing treatments for approx 6wks. I am just searching for any reason or hope for his little future. His picky eating began at age 12 mos he gagged and would vomit on everything we fed him. We kept him on formula till age 2. His diet consisted of and still does of sausage patties MUST be Tenn Pride brand simmered not fried,chicken nuggets from Mcd without the crust,apple slices on a good day, anything chocolate he will eat or drink loves choc milk ,sour cream and cheddar lays chips,ritz crackers.




He has been in OT for a year now and has came a long way with his tactile disorder but we just cannot seem to make a breakthrough with his oral disorder.PLEASE any suggestions or advice? I am so worried of his health and weight, pediatrician says he just small? He weighs 31 lbs and has for a year now. Please I am open for any advice tips and if any of his RSV could been related?



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Aug 25, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		feeding issues and SI
by: Anonymous

I am a Speech Pathologist who does work with sensory based feeding disorders. I am in total agreement with the comments that the OT has written. In addition I would recommend food allergy testing. If no allergies do show up via bloodwork, look into patch testing. A lot of times children with SI issues do have some food sensitivities as well. Therefore not only do they have aversions because of their medical history, but they just don't feel good when they eat. I would also rec. a nutrition evaluation as well.

When looking into an intensive "feeding clinic", be careful and research the approach the clinic uses. I find that clinics that use a purely behavioral approach for sensory kids is not that effective and we end up with a lot more SI issues that we had in the beginning. It is a very long slow road but with intervention it does get better!!
Aug 09, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Feeding issues
by: Anonymous

I am an occupational therapist. I specialize in working with children with sensory integration processing delays (disorders... I do like to consider them as delays because that is really what is going on) in NYC. Often times, babies who have had invasive medical procedures such as feeding tubes, etc, can develop a significant aversion to oral input. This can really affect a child's tolerance to certain foods, food textures, etc... My recommendation is to find an occupational or speech therapist who specializes in sensory=based feeding therapy. Especially with a speech therapist, see if he/she is trained in working with children with sensory-based feeding issues. It is a slow process, gradually introducing new foods, and also implementing an oral desensitization program.

The most important thing is the relationship built between the therapist and the child. Best thing to do is look for private OT clinics, and ask if any of their therapists do sensory-based feeding. Hope this helps.
Aug 09, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Feeding disorders
by: Anonymous

Hello. My son is 3 year old also, and has feeding disorders (as the doctors have called it). He weighs 27 pounds now, thanks to pediasure. He was 22 pounds at his 2 year check up and the doctor wanted him in a feeding clinic. He went into Mt Washington Ped Hospital at their feeding clinic and was there for 7 weeks. They were able to help with his behavior at meal times, but he still is not eating enough. He now drinks 4 cans of pediasure a day to supplement his meals. I offer food every meal in hopes that he will eat at least 1.5 ounces of solid food.

The doctors of the feeding clinic told me that there is no medical reasons that these children do not eat, they just try to work with them to get them to eat using different techniques. My son only eats a handful of different foods, all of which have to be dry. When we try to feed him something that he doesn't want he will gag. He eats nothing wet, like ice creams, pudding, ect. He is a challenge! It took 2 years of taking him to the doctors and complaining that he doesn't eat before they actually seen that he was really small for his age. I would suggest that you see if there are feeding clinics in your area, and maybe see a different doctor. My son also had RSV, but he was a little older, like one and a half, but he had feeding issues before the RSV.

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