By Magic Words Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Complex Needs, Raveena Ravinga
Here at Magic Words Therapy we have therapists, like me, who are specialists in supporting people who have feeding difficulties, that means difficulty with eating and drinking. This includes feeding difficulties that are sensory in nature.
A sensory feeding difficulty is when a child eats very few foods because they struggle with how foods taste, smell, feel, look, and even sound when eaten. We use all our senses when we have food in front of us, children with sensory feeding difficulties can experience a sensory overload when presented with food, causing them to have an aversion to foods and often resulting in a very restricted diet. This can be very worrying for parents who are struggling to make sure their child is not undernourished.
Here are my top 3 tips for parents of children with sensory feeding issues:
Concentrate on the food not your child’s behaviour
For all foods that your child does and does not accept, think about how the food presents:
Is it wet or dry? Is it smooth or crunchy? What other foods are the same colour? How does it sound? Does it have a strong smell?
This will help you understand your child’s sensory difficulties more and help you think of other foods your child may accept.
Remove all pressure
Food and mealtimes can already be a time your child does not look forward to, we want to try and create as much of a positive experience as possible. Part of this is removing all pressure for them to touch, smell and taste new foods. Be supportive if they refuse new foods.
Make food fun
Give your child the opportunity to experience food outside of mealtimes. Use different foods to do arts and crafts, e.g. make a Mr. Potato Head using different veggies for the arms, legs, eyes, mouth, hat. Or make a rainbow using different coloured foods. Let your child play with food. Get them involved in the kitchen when you’re baking, ask them to pass you different ingredients and get them to mix ingredients together. Give them choices of fun ingredients to put in! Give them as much hands-on exploration as possible. Take baby steps if needed, remember no pressure.
