Not sure how to throw our situation out there in a 'condensed' version...

My son turned 3 this past November. He has chronic GI problems and has gone through almost every test imagineable at A.I. DuPont and we have no conclusion. (Loose, really foul smelling diapers) He is otherwise healthy and thriving. He had a speach delay and started therapy last spring and has made tremendous progress. The therapists state that he has autistic tendencies but is not enough on the scale to be considered truly autistic. PDD was mentioned. He cannot tolerate lactose or dairy products and I cannot find a pattern to his GI problems. He does have sporadic 'good' days and then he'll have a 'bad' one the next day.

I cannot get this child to eat anything other than grilled cheese or mac & cheese (which I do sparingly because of the cheese reaction), chicken nuggets, PB&J's, applesauce (sparingly again because of GI issues) or popsicles. He will munch on crackers, goldfish, cheerios and popcorn. I have tried everything I can think of!

Anything with a 'texture' to it like rice or fruit he'll refuse.

Anyone else out there going through anything similar?

He is a very happy, healthy child otherwise. I'm humiliated when we're in public or with friends and he won't eat anything healthy. I feel like I'm a terrible mom because he'll only eat junk! I hate him eating junk!!!!

I love to cook and want to cry because he won't eat my cooking. Honest guys, my cooking isn't the issue here. Those who have tried my cooking are still alive and have rarely complained.

I'm wondering if it's a 'sensory issue' with him and part of the 'autistic tendencies?'

Help please!

Thanks

Sounds like a sensory issue to me. [Olfactory/Gustatory] Children who are hypersensitive to taste are picky eaters. They'll only eat bland foods because they've learned that this is frequently an unpleasant experience. Does he sniff people or objects? React inappropriately to offensive smells? Refuses to go near strong-smelling foods? Dislike certain people or pets because of their smell? If you don't know, try it out. See what happens.

[Tactile] Does he show particular/peculiar responses to food textures? Constantly touches or pokes others? Craves cuddling or vise versa? huggs too tight?

I've known children with Autism who would only eat "beige" coloured foods. Sensory Dysfunction tends to go hand-in-hand with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Also, he may have other food sensitivities. What's causing his "off" days? Have you noticed a pattern? I'm only asking because some of the foods mentioned on his diet are known to cause negative reactions: apples, dairy, jams. Check out the "What he CAN eat" post in this forum. You'll see what I mean. Your son may benefit from this diet.

I'm not sure what GI is but my son had similar symptoms as you mentioned. It turned out he was sensitive to dairy, certain fruits and vegetables. [he's not lactose intolerant, either.] If you're feeding him applesauce and dairy, that may be your key problem to his bodily reaction. I'd avoid them completely. My son LOVED dairy products but he understands now that it's not good for his system.

I hope this helps.

PS: I'm not a doctor but I've done some extensive research for both personal and professional aspects. Can you give some examples as to what the behaviours look like/sound like? I [may] be able to give a little insight.

If you'd like..

I'd appreciate any help I can get!

As far as the fruit/applesauce - I give that to him very sparingly as I know that a lot of fruit juice and applesauce can set off mushy, runny diapers. I want him to get the benefits of fruits so I give it to him every so often - but not every day.

Thought it was celiac as wheat allergies run rampant in my family. The allergist at DuPont said 'no.'

It's frustrating that he won't even try something. He'll start crying and pitch a fit. If you do 'force him' by sticking it on his lips, he'll cry and start spitting it out regardless of what it is.

If you give him blended yogurt with pieces of fruit in it - you have to pick out the fruit or he'll have a fit. He won't eat around it. He'll stop eating until you actually remove it.

Even as an infant he was like this. No rice or tapioca pudding. No semi-solid fruit (as in third stage baby foods)foods. He won't eat solid pieces of fruit now.

I got him to eat a PB&J today and I was thrilled.

I'm baffled and frustrated. He can be very 'systematic' at times - wanting certain snacks served in specific bowls/cups but at others he's fine. I cannot figure out a pattern to the GI problems. He has had this issue since he was one year old. It wasn't as bad when he was on baby food and formula... seems to have started when I started him on solids.

I know, I need to keep a journal. I'm terrible about that!

Thanks so much!

Your son sounds a lot like mine when it comes to diet. He wouldn't eat semi-solid or solid foods either: candy, certain raw fruits and veggies. He only liked bananas or pureed fruit sauce. One day he suddenly developed temporary lactose-intolerance and allergies to blueberries. He was getting diarrhea for a month but didn't appear ill beyond that. This lasted for a over a year. Once I was able to reintroduce these items, I discovered it was affecting him in different ways: behaviour, hyperness, and lack of focus and self control/impulsiveness. Once I elliminated these foods he was a lot calmer and focussed.

Were you able to read up on Feingold Diet? Please do. A lot of what I'm saying will make sense once you do. I swear by this.

It sounds to me that his GI is caused by the foods you're giving him. Why did you suspect he was allergic to celiac/wheat, besides the fact that it runs in your family? Did his nutritionist test him for it? If so, how?

If you're concerned about his lack of fruit intake, try any of these instead [only]: bananas, cantelopes, honeydews, kiwis, mangos, papayas, pears, pineapples and watermelons. They're also softer to chew which he may enjoy.

Careful on the kinds of jams you give him as well. Try and avoid berries! - at least until his GI is under control. You can always reintroduce it to him at a later time. Bananas are also great for hardening bowel stools. I'd avoid dairy products too. I bet its the number 1 contributing factor for his GI. That's just my assumption.

If you have a blender, you can always make him a milkshake with these fruits [only] using soy milk or rice milk. "Dream" rice milk is pretty good with lots of vitamins and calcium.

Also, he may be sensitive to hard foods because of possible auditory sensory sensitivities. I know with my child, everything is too loud for him [tin foil even]. He can hear an airplane before anyone else. The crunching of the hard foods were hurting his ears, as it appeared loud inside his head.

The journal is a GREAT idea. It's helpful to know what the triggers are during those "good days" versus "bad days".

Never force any food. It's a lost cause as he may have some valid reasons, which I can tell that he does. My son was picky too. Especially towards the foods that I later discovered had an adverse effect on him. Trust me on this one.

His systematic nature sounds like Autism to me. Why did your doctor out-rule this? What other characteristics does he have? It could also be obssesive-compulsive disorder [OCD], depending. Did they consider Autism Spectrum Disorder? It's a form of Autism but on a larger scale. It's kind of like PDD but for Autism-like tendencies. PDD is basically an "unknown" label that allows a certain amount of financial funding and support. It doesn't really mean much more than that.

I hope this gives you some direction. Let me know how things go or if you have any other questions.