I'll Take Food Therapy for 1000 Alex

I get the question, "So what is food therapy?" a lot, so I thought I'd explain a bit of what we do every Thursday morning in group, and a bit of what we've now adopted at home.

When we arrive at group the kids go in with the therapists to do some "heavy work." For awhile the parents went in too, but last week they started having the kids go alone. There is a trampoline, a ball pit, a foam block pit, a trapeze, and other various ways to get the kids moving, using large muscle groups, working hard. They do this for about 10 minutes. Partly because it takes Luke awhile to warm up to new situations and new people and partly because it's so early in the morning and my little boy is not a morning person, it takes effort to get Luke involved. However, when we went to his hour earlier occupational therapy two weeks ago (we'll go again this week) this same thing is what we did for the entire hour. By the end Luke was chatty, climbing all over the foam blocks, had tried the trapeze twice and settled nicely into the ball pit before it was time to head to eating time. Susan, the therapist we were working with was amazed at the different kid he was once he had warmed up. She didn't realize how talkative he was!

The next thing we do is head into the food therapy itself. The parents go to one room, where we meet with a therapist who talks to us about things we can do to help our children become better eaters. She gives us programs to implement at home and discusses reasons why kids don't eat and how to counter them. We get to talk to one another and ask questions and empathize with each other too. It's nice to have parents who are going through the same thing as you, because it can sometimes feel like no one else really gets it. I am sure all parents of kids with unique challenges feel that way, and a support system is wonderful.

The kids are in another room with three other therapists. Basically they are having a really cool snack. There is a two-way mirror separating the two groups, so the parents can watch what is going on with the kids, but the kids can't see us. The system goes like this:

Bubble blowing--a nice calming, low-key activity to settle the kids in; doubles as an exercise for the cheeks!

Hand washing/Table washing--they bring out a big bucket with bubbly water and put the bubbles out on the table for the kids to play with. They can pat them, splat them, touch them, paint with them, cleaning their hands and the table in the process and getting used to an unusual texture (great for kids with sensory issues).

Washcloths--The kids are supposed to wipe the table, their hands and faces, wash their teeth and play tug-of-war like a puppy using their back molars to hold the cloth. This strengthens the jaw muscles and introduces another unusual texture to the mouth. Time to eat!--The kids are served one item at a time of 12-14 various food items. Each item relates to the next, and nothing is ever "labeled." You don't say, "Here's a carrot stick for you." You say, "Here's an orange stick for you!" It's kind of odd, but that keeps kids from going, "Nope, I don't like carrots." Or whatever. Luke always says to me at home (since he hardly speaks at group), "That's not an orange stick, it's a carrot, Mom!" "You're right, bud, but right now it's an orange stick." Here's an example of a therapy snack we've done at home:
We started with Cheetos, Luke's "safe" food, meaning something he is almost always willing to eat. But, of course, we called them "orange sticks." Then we had "yellow sticks" (bananas cut lengthwise) they relate because they are both sticks. Then we had "yellow circles" (Kix) they relate because they are yellow. Next were "red circles" (peperoni), I think you're getting how they relate now, right? They were both circles. Then "smaller red circles" (red peanut butter m&m's), then came "pink circles" (strawberry GoGurt dotted on the table in round little dots); "brown circles" (raisins) were next, followed by "brown sticks" (pretzel rods). The last thing is a high-calorie drink, we do Luke's Scandishakes at home but they usually do a juice of some kind at group. Also at home we thankfully don't have to do 12-14 things, just 6-8. The snacks are supposed to have a) a starch, b) a protien, c) a veggie/fruit and d) a high calorie drink. Also they should have 1) a hard munchable (something that doesn't dissolve in your mouth when you start to chew) 2) a meltable hard solid (something that does dissolve in your mouth quickly when you start chewing) and 3) a puree.

Each thing is introduced one at a time in a slow, leisurely way. The kids can play with it as much as they like. Luke loves to slurp up the yogurt off the table or make duck faces out of Pringles. While they eat you are supposed to say encouraging things like, "Good chewing!" or "Way to bite with your sharp teeth!" You mimic chewing in big, comic ways and point to or push on your cheeks. I see Luke do this all the time at home now. He pushes on his cheek with his finger while he chews.

Clean up--The kids get to put anything they don't eat into their mouths and spit it out into the garbage can. Luke loves this part, and his spitting ability is definitely improving. Then they wash their hands, faces and the table again with washcloths.

Goodbye Song--At this point the parents go meet up with the kids in the eating room and we all sing a goodbye song. And that's the end!

We've started doing the snacks at home, with the whole warm-up and cool-down included. We also do something called "brushing" where we use one of those little soft infant scrubbers you get at the hospital on Luke's arms, legs, back, palms, and feet. This gives his sensory sensitive body a big overload. Then, right after we've done that, we do joint compressions, where we kind of wiggle each of his joints, ankles, wrists, shoulders, hips, elbows to the count of ten. This helps release serotonin, which is a hormone that helps calm the body down. We play the washcloth game and also do a lot of "heavy jobs" with him. This includes big muscle play, but also work, like carrying groceries or books. So if you've got any heavy stuff to carry, call on Luke!

So how is Luke doing? Well, most of the time he sits back and watches it all go on. He rarely touches the bubbles and won't have anything to do with the washcloths at group. The therapists call him an "observer." He rarely speaks, but he does eat, especially things he likes like chips, cheese and lollipops, but I do see him usually try almost everything they give him. Some days are worse, like if he went to bed late and is extra tired, and some days are better, like the week we went the hour before for the sensory occupational therapy. But at home it's a whole different picture. He participates in all of it, will play with the bubbles and washcloths, will eat most everything and thinks it's all very funny.

I feel like we are learning a lot as parents and Luke's eating has gotten much better. He often says that he's hungry and asks for food. Yes, it's often junk food, but at least he's wanting food. Something, anything is a good thing for him! It's a huge step forward. And he's starting to eat things on his own a bit more. We have our good days and bad days for eating, but isn't that just typical of a preschooler? This has been such a blessing for Luke and for us. I am looking forward to the weeks ahead and I am excited to see how much he weighs before we leave for Washington.

Anyhow, that's the 4-1-1 on food therapy. Interesting stuff, no? To me it's been an odyssey into my child's brain, and what I've found there has been fascinating!