Customer Reviews

Can't Eat, Won't Eat: Dietary Difficulties and Autistic Spectrum Disorders

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Welllll.....all I can say is "me too" to the author and thousands of other parents who go through this and being accused of 1) incompetent parenting and or 2) lack of discipline; and, child accused of an "eating disorder" etc. ad nauseum. My child never could drink milk, sensitive to texture, taste, smell and this is all covered in this book. I understood this from the autistic spectrum point of view but others certainly don't!!! I now arm myself with this book when visiting the pediatrician and hand it to people who "know everything better than I do" about how children *should* eat - they lose interest in being critical (but of course don't bother to really read it). My child throughout the week eventually eats enough to have a balanced diet and is very healthy - I respect her sensory difficulties and I respect her. Our children on the spectrum certainly don't need any more hassles than life presents them. Thank you Brenda Legge for putting all this in writing and publication, since docs rarely listen to parents and know everything (ha!)

This book was filled mostly with anecdotes of other familes and their struggles with food and autism. I was expecting more suggestions and things I didn't know or hadn't tried.
But it helped to know that we are not alone. And hearing from children and adults with autism was very helpful.
It really put things into perspective and know that my children have less problems than others that physically get sick around "offensive" food.
Basically the biggest idea in this book was not to give up trying. Eventually you should see some improvement in your child's eating habits.

This book is fantastic. As a mother of an 8 year old with Asperger's, it has given me a sense of relief that my son isn't too bad with his limited food choices. The tips on presenting foods will be invaluable. After reading the book, I no longer feel like an inadequate, poor mother who panders to tantrums over food. Thoroughly recommended reading for all parents who have concerns about their childs diet, whether special needs or not. Will also be recommending this book to other family members who criticise when I bring my son's own food to special occasions and outings outside our home environment.

I was hoping to get some tips that I haven't tried yet. I have a 12 year old daughter with Asperger's Syndrome and a 10 year old son with autism. My son is non-verbal and extremely sensitive when it comes to new foods. The author did a great job in telling parents not to feel guilty about shortcomings in their child's diet. There are lots of options when it comes to supplements. However, I was disappointed in the way she dismissed The GF/CF diet. It was fun to read because having to "translate" British phrases reminded me of reading the "Harry Potter" books. I'd like to say it would be a good book for someone with a newly diagnosed child but, I'd be concerned that people who read it might give up too easily on any special diets.

Children on the autistic spectrum can be fussy as well as sensitive eaters. This book aims to provide parents facing these particular sort of difficulties with support and advice. I identified with a lot of things in this book. If you think that other parents, teachers, and health professionals don't, can't and won't understand what it is to have a child so fussy that they would rather starve than eat something the wrong shape or colour, then if nothing else this book will show you that you are not alone.

At 10 months, when my friends' kids were eating solids eagerly and enjoying them, I joked that my child's favorite foods were paper and cardboard -- and green olives. But it was no joke; at every opportunity she'd stuff paper or cardboard into her mouth, and she'd eat green olives voraciously, but I could scarcely get her to swallow anything else. At 12 months she started eating a little more, and I fell into the trap so many mothers of non-eating children fall into -- "I'll feed my child ANYTHING just so she'll eat SOMETHING." Green olives? Sure, honey, eat a whole jar. Passion fruit sorbet? Sure, every night for dinner. Potato chips? I'll buy a health food brand. After some months of this approach I came to my senses and restricted her diet to just the 8 or 10 "healthy" foods she'd eat a little of. But all this changed when I had a phone consult with Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a British neurologist and nutritionist whose own autistic son is fully recovered. Dr. Campbell-McBride gave me a step by step program for correcting my child's intestinal dysbiosis (imbalance of microorganisms in the gut) and rehabilitating her digestion. It took me several weeks to complete the transition to the first stage diet, but then -- suddenly my child had normal solid stools, every day -- no more constipation alternating with soupy smelly stuff! And when I started introducing new foods two weeks later, the first new things took a little care and "trickery", but soon my daughter was eagerly opening her mouth wide when I told her "I have a new food for you to try!" Within three months after we achieved solid stools, she was happily eating about 50 different foods -- and I mean real, nutritious, home-cooked foods like salmon, trout, butterfish, chicken, turkey, liver, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, spinach, artichokes... Moms, why settle for struggling with feeding year after year? Why settle for feeding your child *anything* just so your child will eat *something*? Fix your kid's digestive system and your kid will eagerly eat healthy foods! I highly recommend Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's book "Gut and Psychology Syndrome", which gives you her whole treatment program step by step, as well as simple steps for getting your ASD child to eat the new foods the diet requires. An important thing Dr. Campbell-McBride points out is that ASD children, allowed to eat only what they choose, will always eat a diet that keeps their digestive systems sick and their brain function impaired. So if you need to know "you're not alone", ok, read Legge's book. But forget Leggge's diet tips -- get your kid on a real treatment program like Dr. Campbell-McBride's and you'll have a happy, healthy eater and a much better functioning child.

The book does offer some great tips. However, you don't have to follow the book exactly. Things could back fire. Do what works for your child and don't force anything. There are many suggestions that work such as being persistent and patient. It helped me tremendously with my daughter who has autism. This book was a great inspiration for me on how to help my child find ways to get past her food fears.

Now she eats a pretty well balanced diet that includes fruits and veggies and less fried foods.

Thanx Brenda!