Sensory processing disorder seems to be popping up more and more. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I first heard about it. A friend’s daughter was diagnosed and they were beginning occupational therapy. Fast forward to 6-months ago. I realized that my (then) 8-month old may be having some sensory issues related to her eating behaviors.

I had met a new friend for dinner. As our big kids played in the playground, I mentioned that we were struggling a bit with the baby’s transition to table food. Her eyes lit up and she said, “Really?! I’m so glad you said something. We really struggle with our youngest and he is 4.” It was a bonding moment between Mom’s. One that opened my eyes to the possibility that our issues may be more than just picky eating.

For those that aren’t aware of sensory processing disorder, it is related to the way the nervous system receives and processes messages from each of the 5 senses. Sensory signals are either not detected, or create a bit of a traffic jam in the brain that causes a challenge for the child when completing certain every day tasks. It seems to impact each child differently within a very broad range. Some with just 1 sense. Others with all 5. It is even closely aligned to autism in that many autistic children have SPD. Yet not all SPD cases are diagnosed with autism.

As she continued, she shared a story that broke my heart. As she stood in the baby food aisle of the grocery store, another mother engaged her to ask how old her baby was. She attempted to explain their food struggles and mentioned baby food was one thing her youngest had mastered and would eat. So while they were working on increasing his foods, she needed to have something he would eat so she continued buying baby food. The response she got would make any Mom feel guilt and shame. She was basically told she was being a lazy parent and they couldn’t believe she would give in to her 4 year old’s demands like that. After this trip, she rarely talked about their struggle. It was in that moment that I knew this was something that needed to be talked about more.

I started paying closer attention to Sienna, my youngest. We had followed the same path we did with our older kids. At the age of 4 months we introduced baby cereal. This was mostly an attempt to fill her belly at bed time and practice eating from a spoon. Each attempt was met with the “Face of Disgust”. She barely swallowed any of the cereal. The first few spoonfuls she would attempt to eat and then promptly spit out. After that, she would purse her little lips as hard as she could. That was the end. After a little while, I assumed she wasn’t ready and we took a break only to met the next time with the same issues.

Fast forward to 7-months. She still had not really gotten the hang of baby cereal. I attempted a change to other stage 1 baby foods. It was extremely hit or miss. Some she refused to eat entirely. Others she would eat a few bites and then purse those lips shut refusing any more. The “Face of Disgust” remained with every bite.

Over the next few months, not much changed. When we found a flavor she would tolerate, she would eat maybe a quarter or half of a jar of baby food at a sitting before refusing. That was a win! I started to introduce puffs. Once she got the hang of picking them up to eat them, they were a hit. Another win!

She showed such interest in all of the foods we were eating. However, she refused to eat it. Again, the “Face of Disgust” won out. The food would be placed in her mouth only to be promptly spit back out.

At her 1-year appointment, I brought it up to her pediatrician. They were pushing me to transition her fully to milk. I had mentioned that we were struggling with food and I wasn’t comfortable taking her off formula until she was eating better. I wanted to make sure she was getting all of the nutrients she really needed. So as long as the food issues continued, my plan was to continue offering a bottle periodically through the day.

Our pediatrician suggested a regroup at 15 months to further evaluate if she has a sensory processing disorder. While some babies are slower to develop certain skills, their recommendation would be to work with an occupational therapist should we not see progress at that point. So over the last 2-months, we have been working to broaden the list of foods Sienna will eat. We’ve certainly had progress. Yet, it’s an every day challenge to find foods to try.

Here are some of the ways we are working with Sienna (14-months) to increase her foods:

• Identify foods that she likes. Introduce similar foods. For example, she likes puffs. We added dry cereal and crackers successfully. She even expanded to eating a frozen waffle (doesn’t like pancakes though). Bread, french fries…basically we’ve discovered she is a carb addict. 😉
• Allow play time with food. Give plenty of opportunity to explore the food with their hands. Coax them by playing games to get them to put the food in their mouth or try it.
• Continue trying. Be patient. Don’t pressure them. Just continue offering food in really small amounts. It’s all trial and error.
• Follow your gut. No one knows your kid like you do! Don’t worry about what anyone else is saying. Unless they have advice to offer that feels right to you, dismiss it. Continue on the path you feel is best for your child.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to your pediatrician. Have your child evaluated if needed. The earlier the intervention, the better for your child.

Do you have any experience with sensory processing disorder?