- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Indiana Babies
lemen99
member
first OT/feeding therapy today
lemen99
member
LOVE the OT. She's awesome. Thought the ST was off her rocker and was treating a behavior problem, which isn't helpful at all for a kid who has oral motor and some degree of sensory issues. I do believe there is some bit of behavior issue there as well (the throwing of food) but don't feel right yelling at him for throwing food when he is uncomfortable and wont' eat as it is. She said we fix the medical/coordination issue first, then if there are behavior issues remaining, we can work on that.
Anyways, she wasn't at all surprised at any of the things Andrew does - pocketing meat, difficultly chewing/swallow at times, over-stuffing, gagging, only wanting crunchy foods, can't eat PB (gets stuck to his mouth and he does not know what to do), can't eat cheese (can't chew and pukes), etc.
She said sensory disorders are classic in kids like Andrew (often goes hand in hand with reflux), and she does think it is contributing to his difficulties. She said he chews by mashing his tongue on the roof of his mouth, and she'll work on that.
IMO is probably considered fairly minor, as he is gaining weight, but we do work with him so, so much to help him, and I don't want to see him struggle like he does. I think the problem is more evident than ever because 1) he is in a growth spurt and has a big appetite that he can't fulfill and 2) he refuses to let us feed him now and 3) he's growing frustrated 3) he really struggles with any form of protein except black beans.
She told us foods to avoid and said to keep feeding him the crunchy foods he is comfortable with. She suggested bar cheese (or cheese whiz ew!) as a form of protein that he can eat. She said as he has better coordination and more awareness, we can gradually expand on the things he can eat.
She also agrees he'll probably get a little boost of help after his surgery when we can clear up the medical issues, which are surely just making this all worse. And when his molars come completely through (they are a lot through), that should help too.
Therapy was cut short today b/c she just squeezed us in, but we start in full blast next week. Then she'll start some exercises to help him start to learn. Eventually, she'll even help us get him to use utensils so maybe he can get back into eating yogurt, etc...which would help...right now he as no clue what to do.
I can't remember who recommended her, but her first name is Joan. (Denice, the Joan you recommended wasn't available through First Steps.)
I'm hopeful!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: first OT/feeding therapy today
she sounds great, Kathy!
That's interesting that reflux often is related to sensory issues. The more I read about various sensory issues, the more I think I probably struggled w/ them when I was young (and my mom thought I had reflux as an infant after seeing my kids struggle w/ it). I'm a super picky (and borderline phobic) eater.
Ugh, that sucks Beth! I guess the idea of sensory issues in general is pretty new. I guess in the past I'm guessing those kids were labeled as "picky eaters" which just plain sucks for them.
ohhhhh I couldn't remember!!!
Thanks again. I really LOVE her! I had a great feeling from the start. I don't always feel that way.
We tried bar cheese on crackers tonight. He threw every cracker that had cheese on it on the floor
I even tried making cracker/cheese "sandwiches" to hide the cheese. He ate one, and was mad and threw the rest. WTF!!!!
I'll keep trying. haha.
Well, Andrew is almost 2 - First Steps will count him by his actual age, but really it is okay to adjust his age, so 20 months....
He has always really had some signs of oral-related delays. he did not make any babbling sounds until he was 11 1/2 months adjusted. He gagged his brains out on food until he stopped around 15 months adjusted. He gags easily in general - when he gets a cold he pukes, a lot. The first cold he puked for 4 solid days. (It's not as bad now.) We will offer him food, try to feed him, and he's still crying hungry. We'll try again - and he won't eat. So, he never acts satisified.
It's hard to distinguish between "picky" and a real issue there. Some picky behavior, pocketing, etc can be normal. We gave it time, hoping things would iron out, the gagging would stop, and the gagging mostly did stop, except he will only eat certain things - other things he just can't.
The kicker for us was he really is not improving, if anything regressing. He also is not really meeting milestones. He also does not seem content. Not that you should compare kids, but I also noticed the gap between him and his (even younger) peers was getting very large.
I think Clark is really still young - - but you can always request a First Steps eval if you become concerned. Andrew scored a -1.5 to -2 standard deviation in all areas except "cognitive" so he pretty much qualifies for anything we want.
Yea for good news!
Does he eat shredded cheese? I know it makes a mess but Kaylee used to like that before she got the hang of chunks of cheese.
He used to!
i'll have to try again