Short Vent: The new DCPS lunch menu - not for my SPD kid

[Anonymous]

I am glad they revamped the menu. Kids need healthy food choices. I am even active on the school's garden committee. But I am sooo unhappy with the new menu. My SPD kid who won't eat vegetables will eat fruit. But a piece of fruit isn't worth paying for the rest of an uneaten lunch. He won't eat cheese, unless it is on pizza or in ravioli or lasagna, so he is now up a creek without a slice. We tried the lasagna - but it had big pieces of spinach - no go. And undercooked whole wheat pasta has a tough texture, so he's not thrilled about it vs. the regular. Chicken Florentine on a flatbread? I'd eat it in a flash. But not him.

He loves hot dogs and when he was a toddler, it was the only food he would eat outside the house - no roll and just ketchup. But no franks in sight He'll eat chicken, but not covered with the choice of jerk, teriyaki, curry or some other sauce. He likes his plain, with tomato sauce or ketchup. He doesn't like sandwiches because of the mixture of textures and the only one he wants is a PBJ. He gags on milk and always did. He drank formula until age 5. But he will drink chocolate milk. No more flavored milk. Sigh! At least I used to be able to vary his lunch a bit with the hot meals of favorites. I am glad the menu's better for the other kids, but I am already tired of making the same six lunch things and facing whole months of no breaks.

I am going to try him on the grilled chicken on Monday with the side of baked beans. I can only hope it is as simple as described. But I can only wish they would make a few dishes just a little plainer. And I guess I should take out stock in Ovaltine since I'll be making our own chocolate milk.

[Anonymous]

OP, I can so relate to how you feel. My SPD little guy is now in second grade and I have dreaded lunches since the day he started preschool. I don't know if this will happen for you, but one of the things that school lunch did for my son is that is stretched his eating. Over the past two years, I can't tell you how many foods he will now eat. He's not like other kids, but the gains he's made have been worth paying for lunch for the past two years. I think you are doing the right thing by letting him try it.

[Anonymous]

We're in FCPS but I totally understand what you mean. We have the same issues, especially with the sauces. I saw on some papers that came home that they have a goal of eliminating chocolate milk at lunch. Getting chocolate milk is a huge incentive for my DS with SPD and an effective way to get him to try something new. I hate packing lunches all the time and whish there were more things offered that he would eat just to give him some variety and opportunities to try different things.

[Anonymous]

Prior Posters - Can you tell me what if any therapies you are pursuing to aid in your child's eating? I am always looking for ideas and strategies employed by other moms are can provide useful ideas. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

We did speech therapy through the Language Experience.

[Anonymous]

Thanks - forgive a dumb question but how did the speech therapy help with the food? Was the issues just developing a mature chew? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you just pack a lunch? We did it for 9 years when we decided the DCPS offerings were disgusting.

[Anonymous]

OP here: DS was and still is avoidant about a number of foods because of smell and texture. He also had weak tone and problems keeping his mouth closed. DS had OT which included exercises that helped him with blowing - they had a whole asortment of fun small toys. (DS could not blow out candles until age 6 due to slack tone. No pucker - he used to kiss me with an open mouth.)

He also had the Lindamood Bell Lips program done by the SLP. SLP also had him blow bubbles and had various "chew" items, so he would grip and close. We had it at home to also stimulate oral motor action and meet his sensory seeking needs since he was a thumb sucker. So is /was a strange combination of avoidance and seeking. He needed stimulation to help him with sensory seeking, but also to make him less sensitive. He had a problem eating solid foods and even now prefers many frits without their skins/pureed.

To other PPs; thanks. I am ignoring the cranky puss at 14:58.

[Anonymous]

OP here again: I just wanted to say that SI stuff really is lifelong. It can be mitigated, but never goes away completely. DS is nearly 11 and there are a lot of things he will eat (compared to toddlerhood) and school has helped him try new things. But there are still many things he will not eat nor even try. It is a continuous frustration. He'll eat many fruits (sorry for the misspelling) but no green vegetables.

[Anonymous]

I have a child with SPD issues that come and go, or ebb and flow. I do not believe that sensory issues should take the blame because a child will drink chocolate, but not plain, milk. Really?

I do not believe sensory issues are at fault when a child will eat an apple but not celery, or a strawberry but not broccoli. Sensory processing disorder does not create a preference for hot dogs. Sensory processing does not make a child love chicken and tomato sauce and hate chicken and teriyaki sauce.

Sounds like we have a child who likes sugary sweet chocolate milk, salty hot dogs and salty pizza. If this is "sensory processing disorder," then don't 75% of kids have this "disorder"?

I know no one is every supposed to say anything negative on the Special Needs Forum, ever, and you're supposed to accept everything that is ever said here, always. I'm sorry.

[Anonymous]

As an adult with food-related sensory disorder, I would encourage you to read what PP said.

The sensory issues have to do with texture and combinations of textures, and things like that. They don't have anything to do with preferring sweet things, etc.

[Anonymous]

What texture does chocolate milk have that plain milk doesn't have?

[Anonymous]

PP: OP here: you don't have to accept it, but it is my reality. DS did not want table food until almost 14 months, probably because he had problems chewing effectively.

DS did not drink milk ever. He gagged and spit it out, I EBFed for a year and then moved to formula - until age 5. Tried milk repeatedly. Chocolate milk was the last resort. Even now, he still will not drink milk readily and I feel lucky if I get 8 oz of chocolate milk into him in a day. He grits his teeth and tries not to drink it when I am not looking and hides the glass in the refrigerator. Having it at school means he will try to finish it in front of other kids to appear "normal." I have tried a number of other milks/flavors - no go. He will take yogurt, but not with fruit - so it is very texture driven.

You would think if he likes hot dogs, he'd eat bologna. Nope.

He will eat pizza, but not bread for the most part. You are probably right in that the salty, tomato taste works to overcome the aversion to the texture of bread in his mouth. That and not wanting to appear strange at birthday parties. Last year, he decided to try the roll with the hot dog, but the moment he gags, it is just the hot dog.

Smell is important also - he cannot tolerate the smell of peas, broccoli, green beans. Spinach is slimy to him. He eats oranges by a putting the piece in his mouth, chewing it until dry and then spitting out the remaining tough parts. He eats corn the same way. Until last year, apples and pears had to be peeled, but now he spits out the skin. I could go on, but don't want to waste folks time.

For many years, DS was at 10th percentile of weight. When age 3 we tried not to feed him (before we knew about SPD) for 3 days. His pre-school teachers told us that he would get hungry enough to eat. He didn't - just drank formula.

Your child clearly does not have the extreme SPD mine has. Food was only one of his symptoms.. he was just saying to me the other day that a few kids have wondered why he doesn't eat "normal" lunch food, like sandwiches. Having to buy hot lunch is one more socially acceptable thing to do. But to close the loop, many of these lunches don't work for him.

[Anonymous]

No great advice for you OP, but sincere good wishes. Some of us get it.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with 21:15 and 21:02.

My child has significant oral motor sensitivity. He didn't drink milk (would gag) because of the texture but he wouldn't drink chocolate milk either. Chocolate flavoring couldn't change or disguise the texture (which was the problem for him). He had very few foods he could eat because of the oral motor sensitivity.

Your child may just have specific preferences. We all do.

I always have had to pack lunches (child now a teen) to accomodate his needs. It's just what I had to do so he could eat at school. His sensitivity is better but it still exists.