Michael: Food phobias and a restricted diet
Michael (age 2 ½ on referral) initially presented with food phobia and an extremely restricted diet, which were secondary to:
Sensory processing difficulties and hyper-sensitive gag reflex
Learned avoidance reactions to new foods due to aversive feeding experiences (chronic reflux and constipation)
Controlling behaviours towards mealtimes and accepted foods
At the beginning of the program, Michael suffered from reflux and constipation and his accepted foods were predominately carbohydrate and dairy based. He accepted some meat, fish and vegetables, but only in very small portion sizes, mashed down to the consistency of Stage 2 baby foods. He refused all fruit and drank only milk or water. At the time, his diet consisted of predominately Nutella chocolate spread on toast, biscotti biscuits and Organix baby crisps.
We got to work, carried out an assessment and set therapy goals for Michael and his family. These focused on:
Readily tasting new foods
Having 30 different foods in his repertoire, including foods from all of the three food groups
Eating age appropriate foods, without vomiting or gagging
Taking an appropriate amount of liquids to support hydration.
Making progress…
Over an 11 month period, Michael made excellent progress and achieved all of these goals. By the end of the program, Michael accepted the following foods:
“We got to work, carried out an assessment and set therapy goals for Michael and his family.”
Carbohydrates
Wholemeal, pitta and Naan bread
Cheese & tomato flatbread
Chunky chips
Macaroni pasta
Potato waffles and wedges
Wholemeal rolls
Various cakes
Chocolate chip cookies
Cheese twist breadsticks
Pretzels
Poppadum’s
Noodles
French baguette
Wholemeal wraps
Sesame bread sticks
Various pastas
French fries
Fruit & veg
Tomato & basil pasta sauce
Raw carrot
Lettuce
Red peppers
Baby sweetcorn
Sliced mushrooms
Cress
Rocket
Mango Juice
Apple juice
Apple & pear juice
Apple & raspberry juice
Apple, mango & banana smoothie
Tropical fruit juice
Orange & mango juice
Other drinks:
Mango & lime cordial
Ribena
Orange barley water
Blackberry & apple squash
Proteins
Beef meatballs
Turkey, beef and cocktail sausages
Ham
Fish fingers
Cooked chicken and beef slices
Lamb kebabs
Chicken goujons
Breaded turkey
Pastrami
Beef burgers
Lamb meatballs
Chicken breast
Chicken fingers
Various cheeses
Eggy-bread