Eat the Doughnut!

"You haven't lived until you've dissected a doughnut."

Several weeks ago, I posted that as my Facebook status, and got a few puzzled comments.  Most of my friends could not understand what I was talking about.

But you, my fellow parents of children with sensory issues, you understand.  Don't you?

My son is an incredibly picky eater.  In order for him to eat a plain doughnut, we have to remove the "brown" off the outside of it, so just the inside white part is exposed.  This stems from the fact that over a year ago, he gagged on a plain doughnut, and the sensory memory of that has stayed with him ever since.  So for him to be able to eat it, he has to have the outside surgically removed.  Never mind the fact that he's able to eat a plain munchkin no problem.  The memory is from the doughnut, and can't be changed, reasoned with, or explained.

So, you ask, why even bother giving him the doughnut in the first place?  Give him a different kind.  Or none at all.

Because my son isn't just a picky eater.  He's a picky eater with SPD and autism, who also happens to have an intolerance to all corn products.

That's right.  His diet, already limited by his sensory disorder, is that much smaller because he can't digest anything with corn.  That means no corn starch, no corn syrup, no modified food starch, no dextrose, no maltodextrin, and of course, no high fructose corn syrup.

I'll give you a moment to go check your pantry and see how many foods have some corn product in them.  I'll name a few kid-friendly ones:  Cheerios, Rice Krispies, several brands of peanut butter, breads, jellies, crackers, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, bologna, deli meats, yogurts...and we haven't even left the house.  Forget about fast food or eating out most places.

Do YOU Have Sensory Issues?

I had the most amazing time talking to Lisa Davis at It’s Your Health Radio this last week. It was truly like talking with a good friend – we laughed, and exchanged stories about our kids and our husbands, and of course talked a lot about Sensory Processing Disorder and my book This is Gabriel Making Sense of School. But the best part? Laughing about our own sensory issues.

Yep, that’s right, turns out that we as parents of SPD kiddos seem to have our own sensory issues. Just call me Captain Obvious.

There is always time to chat about our kids, and exchange stories about their therapies or quirky and funny behavior, but how often do you actually talk to another sensory-mom about yourself? Never. I know.

So, when Lisa and I started laughing about our childhoods and how those little sensory quirks of ours are playing out in our kids, it was just a blast. And, I wanted to include all of you in the discussion too!

When I was a child I had definite sensory preferences that lean towards being defensive (Nick is exactly me, but I ate more than peanut butter). I needed to have my socks just right, no itchy tags, definitely no screen-printed shirts (that feeling was AWFUL on my skin!), I wore my jacket inside during the winter, I learned to self-soothe by rubbing my feet on my sheets and shoving them under anything heavy (my hubby’s legs are my fave now), I hated certain food textures (like peas, lima beans, olives, mushrooms) and to this day I can’t stand loud noises.

I am definitely more auditory defensive than anything else these days – it is like I have the capacity to handle a certain amount of noise, and once it is reached, I am done. No additional background noise, no crowded places full of people moving and making noise, and by rule, no electronic or battery operated toys after 4pm.

I also have to out myself here and say that I hate to brush my teeth. I just hate it. I hate the taste of toothpaste, and the feeling of the brush, but the thing I hate THE MOST is the feeling of all of that spit in my mouth that I have to hold there while I brush. Holding the spit in to brush over the sink is IMPOSSIBLE. I will gag, and throw up. Truly. As embarrassing as it is, I just can’t do it. And don’t get me started on mouth wash – same problem (spit in mouth) but worse.

Good Nutrition for Sensationally Picky Eaters - Guest Post

Did you know that 75% of children who have an autistic spectrum diagnosis have atypical feeding patterns and limited food preferences? Additionally, 50% of the autism population are hypersensitive to textures and lumps in their food? (Mayes and Calhoun, 1999)

I bet as the parent of an SPD/ASD kid you are NOT at all surprised by that -- right?  I'm not. 

So, when I saw one of my reader's blog, Healthy, Green and Frugal (three things I am not) I thought -- hey, who better to help me shed a little light on eating issues than this nutritionally savvy mom of two boys with sensory issues?  And let's be honest, advice from someone who truly gets your life is the best -- right?

So, grab your fork and get ready to wet your appetite -- and hopefully your kids' too!

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Hi! My name is Rebecca. First of all, I must say that I’m a big fan of Hartley’s blog. It has provided me with much-needed information, encouragement, and humor. Needless to say, I was flattered when she asked me to write a guest post about how to get our sensationally picky eaters the healthy nourishment they need. Given that my blog is called Healthy, Green and Frugal, you can imagine that instilling healthy eating habits in my two young boys is one of my top priorities. Unfortunately, their sensory issues sometimes make this a bit of a challenge.