[blparent] blparFruits and Vegies

[Alex]

Hey, Barbara!  I am sorry for not posting sooner.  I get the info from
the list in digest form and often the message is clipped.  And, I am
even sorrier because you were so helpful to me just a few months ago
when I was drowning.  Rhett does not have a lot of food issues, so I
cannot totally relate, but I wanted to offer these words of
encouragement.  I am sure that you are doing a great job and you are
exactly right that we cannot allow our children to literally starve
themselves.  I have a friend who put her kids (2 autistic boys) on the
glutin and casien free diet.  Her youngest actually lost so much
weight certainly all of his ribs were visible, so she took them off of
it.  The only thing he eats is pizza and ketch-up.  Oh, and because he
has pica (not sure that's the correct spelling), he eats bugs, grass,
other plants, paper, and really just about anything he shouldn't.
Rhett also went through a stage when he would just eat pizza, so I
began putting all kinds of things on the pizza including spinach,
artichokes, olives, onions, peppers (several kinds from the garden),
and whatever I thought I could hide under the cheese on a pizza.  He
still will not eat much meat, potatos, raw vegetables or cooked ones
for that matter, or any type of soup.  Some things I think he won't
eat because he does not like the texture.  He eats things like oatmeal
and jello and bananas though.  I did hear (and I have no idea how you
would manage to do this) but an electric toothbrush swobbed on the
gums and around the inside of the mouth about three times per day
would lessen the stimulation that the child receives from the food, so
they are more likely to eat things which they would not eat before
because they did not like the texture.  funny, rhett also likes lots
of different kinds of beans.  He has just started eating sandwiches
but is still kind of picquy about them, particularly the meat.  He
also ate an apple for the first time just a few weeks ago.  I was so
excited.  Oh, and have you tried putting some seeds in the rice?  I
ask about seeds because they are supposed to have all kinds of
nutrients.  and, Rhett likes to eat nuts and raisons and other dried
fruits.  He started eating all of that after I bought some trail mix
with the M&M's and yogurt pieces in the bag.  I got the trail mix at
the Dollar general store and it cost less than $2.  Now, I buy the
ingrediants separately and make my own because it is a little
healthier.  Does the temperature of the food matter?  and, just out of
cureosity, do your boys seem to have a sense of smell?  If they are
sensative to smells, I wonder if this could contribute to a narrow
pallet.    rhett did not seem to smell anything until just about four
months ago (a little past 4.5 years of age).  I hope I don't sound as
wierd as I think I sound re-reading this message.  I know what issues
we face and Rhett certainly has some difficulties with sensory
integration, so I wanted to bring up some other ways of looking at
this.  Please feel free to e-mail me off list at:

heyitslu at gmail.com

or you have my work e-mail address.  best of luck and I'll send
prayers your way.  I know people pray for us because some days I get
that extra boost, which can only mean that there has been at least
some angelic intervention in the works.  Lucy Alexander Mercer