Welcome to “On the
Horizon”
Issue 71: Introducing New Foods to your Child with Feeding Deficits
On the Horizon is an
award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental
disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress,
support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the
whole family.
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Food for Thought
 A Note from Nicole: Events; Safety
Idea of the Week: Ice Cream Sundaes
Feature Article: Introducing New Foods to your Child with Feeding Deficits
The Horizons Team Recommends: My Precious Kid; Explorations in Eating Audio Program, Calendar and Journal Set
Upcoming Events: Sibshop
 
Hi Everyone!
What an amazing time we had the professionals who attended our first ever Extreme Makeover: Autism Education Edition workshop last week! As you can see from the picture here (with some people missing) we had a great group. It was three intense and fun days of learning together and shifting the way we think about educating students with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in school settings. There was such a fabulous response that we are already planning to hold this again in the next six months. Stay tuned for details!
If you have a child in your family or classroom who requires some extra thought and preparation when it comes to safety issues, I encourage you to check out My Precious Kid at the link below in the resources section. They’ve got some great items to help keep your kids safe this summer and throughout the year.
Our feature article this week will be very helpful to those of you who want to support your child to expand his or her diet. Erin provides some important tips for helping your child develop increased comfort around new foods as you work toward actually eating them.
Have an awesome week!
Looking to the horizon,
Ice Cream Sundaes
Summer is the perfect time for ice cream sundaes. You can do a lot of different things with ice cream sundaes. You can start off with using different
things to hold your sundae – use a dish, cup or even an ice cream cone bowl. Then decide what flavor ice cream you want to use. There are then the many different kinds of toppings you can put on top – hot
fudge, caramel, strawberries, nuts, whipped cream, cherries, and the list could go on and on. You could make a different type of ice cream sundae every day of the week if you wanted – the varieties are endless. Enjoy your ice cream and all the possibilities of what you can add to it!
 
Introducing New Foods to your Child with Feeding Deficits
By: Erin Roon, MA CCC-SLP
Having previously considered the differences between a picky eater and a problem feeder, here are some simple tips for introducing your child to new foods.
Involve your child in preparing the menu for the week.
Determine together which recipes your child might be interested in
cooking. You can discuss whether the recipe needs to be changed, or
whether something could be added. Have your child help you decide what ingredients need to be put on the grocery list. If it is not too
overwhelming for your child, s/he can accompany you to the store and
help you purchase the ingredients you need. Some children may also be
interested in having a grocery store scavenger hunt to find the items
on the list. Make this experience fun!
Include your child when preparing the meal.
This allows for some exploration of food without expecting the child to
eat it. Food preparation can be less stimulating and anxiety provoking
than sitting down for a meal. Make your food preparation fun by
allowing for exploration through “play” with the foods. It is
important to touch the food. Allow your child to touch, squish, smear,
or knead the food. Try experimenting by adding new and different
ingredients. This is also a great time to talk about all of the
different smells. Don’t force your child to smell something, but you
can talk about how good the food smells to you or what it reminds you
of. Remember that just because your child helped prepare the meal,
s/he may still not eat it. At this stage you are just providing
exposure and interaction with food, not expecting the child to eat it.
If your child chooses to try the new food, that is great; but don’t
force him/her to try it.
My Precious Kid
Child Safety & Baby Gear Store
Is your child safe and protected? My Precious Kid Child Safety Products and Baby Gear
protect your children and give you peace of mind. We have products for
your baby, children, adults, pets, the elderly, and children with
special needs. NEW BABY? We have a free gift. Lets us help protect your family. Child Safety is our priority!
Explorations in Eating Audio Program, Calendar and Journal Set
Making Eating an Adventure and
Expanding Your Child’s Food Preferences.
If your child is a picky eater or has feeding
issues, mealtimes can feel like a battle zone. Try to introduce a new
food and you’re surely buying a front row seat to a meltdown. His
limited diet makes it difficult to enjoy a meal out or eat at friends
and relatives’ homes. And you can’t help but worry about the impact
such a limited diet will have on his health and development.
But there is hope. Over the years we’ve found that
if a child has the opportunity to explore new foods in a
non-threatening and playful way, she will eventually taste it—and
often, ends up liking it. So, we’ve created a few
easy-to-use tools to help you follow the same process at home.
Discover how to start broadening
your child’s food preferences by ordering your Explorations in Eating Audio program,
Calendar, and Journal Set for just $49.95
today!
For more information, click here
Please join us!
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