The holiday season is upon us, and a number of festive holiday dinner opportunities are quickly approaching. Whether your family will be celebrating Diwali, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, or another special holiday event, you may be wondering how to best plan to make this day special and inclusive for your neurodivergent picky eater. Today, let’s dive in and figure it out together!
Read MoreWant to introduce new foods to your child with autism or ARFID? Not sure what to offer that would actually lead to success with your very picky eater? Get food ideas for picky eaters, and learn how to come up with food swaps of your own to expand your picky eater’s diet.
Read MoreIt’s not fancy, it’s not expensive, it’s not even that novel, but it is the one picky eater tool that I use and recommend for every, single ASD family that I work with. I’m not blowing smoke when I say that this is THE TOOL that I think every picky eater mom needs to have in her arsenal. It’s the thing as a feeding therapist that I would be lost without. Click the link to learn more!
Read MoreWhen kids don’t sit down for mealtimes, they lose their focus on eating, and it can take them a long period of time to finish a meal. When this happens, parents often resort to leaving food out or available for long intervals of time. Unfortunately, extending mealtimes can be problematic for picky eaters. It takes the edge off of your honey’s appetite, it makes them fussier about coming to the table, and it really mucks with your efforts to help your kiddo try new foods. So, what can you do instead? I recommend teaching your honey to sit at the table for meals. Click the link to learn how.
Read MoreVery often, I meet parents of children with autism who tell me their honey’s favorite foods are cookies, crackers, and candy. They wonder how to expand their picky eater’s diet and how to get them to try new foods.
In fact, just the other day, a mom asked me: Is serving junk food better than serving no food? She went on to explain that junk food seems to be all her son will eat.
My answer: It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. If your honey’s favorite foods are cookies crackers, and candy, and you’re looking for some ideas on how to expand your child’s diet, this blog post is for you.
Read MoreWish you could take the stress out of mealtimes? Wish you had a rule book for what to do as you sit down to this meal? Well, here’s the next best thing - my 8 things you can do to ease mealtime stress with your picky eater. I’ll cover what to say, how to start the meal off on the right foot, how to respond to behaviors you don’t like….and more.
Read MoreWe all know that using small rewards can have a big pay-off in motivating kids to learn and exercise new skills. I know so many families that used M&M’s to help teach toileting. In our house, Elmo songs helped us encourage hair washing (a dreaded reality of taking a bath!). I grew up earning a small allowance for doing household chores. …the applications are endless.
Read MoreWhen we ask kids to try new foods, we are asking them to do something fearful. We’re asking them to step out of their comfort zone and taste something they’ve never had. The experience could be bitter, sweet, sour, or otherwise. It could make them gag or cough. In order to make this leap of faith, your honey needs your vote of confidence-and more. Click here to learn 4 ways to help your child face their fears and experience the excitement and pride of trying new foods!
Read MoreTons of recipes all over the internet promise to hide veggies from your kiddo inside their favorite dishes. To be honest, sneaking in the good stuff sounds like the perfect idea. If all goes as planned, your kiddo will be chomping on a bunch of healthy goodness, none the wiser.
Tempting as it is, this is something I never do when prepping meals for clients, nor do I recommend that parents do so when they create meals for their child. Click to learn 3 reasons why I believe this well-meaning strategy is too risky for picky eaters, and what you can do instead. I’m laying out a step-by step plan that you can follow at dinner tonight.
As a feeding therapist, I have learned that it matters when kids drink milk or juice outside of mealtimes. These casual sips throughout the day can take the edge off of hunger making it hard for your kiddo to try new things. For some, these drinks between meals can even become a meal replacement. Learn 5 steps - including a mindset hurdle - to support your kiddo with shoring up those between meal drinks.Your honey will feel hungrier and more adventurous at the table.
Read MoreFood jags are a common problem among kids with picky eating and food refusal. They can occur for a variety of different reasons - and may even be tied to an underlying medical problem. Click to learn 3 strategies used by a behavioral expert and feeding therapist to prevent food jags. If your little honey is already on a jag, learn one bonus tip that can help your child reverse course.
Read MoreIntroducing new foods to kiddos on the spectrum can be TOUGH. It can cause fear, anxiety, or even challenging behavior. That’s why, today, we are going to talk about 5 little ways that you can encourage your picky eater with autism to try new foods. Ideas that will push your little person to grow without pushing them over the edge.
Read MoreFor your child with autism, routines create predictability and safety. As a mom, routines provide a structure for teaching expected eating behaviors. Learn 3 game-changing routines you can apply with your picky eater for better eating, fewer battles, and smoother transitions to the table.
Read MoreThe evidence base for kids with autism suggests that using choices and your child’s preferences can increase compliance, interest and sustained attention. Learn 1) to make your child with autism a food list so you can offer foods they like and 2) to offer your child with autism choices. You don’t have to wait them out or give them a million choices to help your child with picky eating and autism eat more.
Read MoreYour child with autism’s rigidity might very well be related to their picky eating. Keep your child flexible at mealtimes by utilizing this ONE step you can take action on today.
Read MoreIs your picky eater with autism eating only 1 or 2 foods meal after meal? Get the autism food list free worksheet you can put to use today to help them out of a rut.
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