Customer Reviews

Just Take a Bite: Easy, Effective Answers to Food Aversions and Eating Challenges!

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The cover of Just Take a Bite is adorable. My nine-year old son has severe autism, is non-verbal and has feeding deficits. For three years now he has been attending feeding therapy.

The chapter covering the stages of sensory development for eating was very informative. This is very similar to what has been utilized in the feeding therapy we attend on a weekly basis.

The case studies are highlighted in gray throughout the chapters. The ages range from babies through elementary age. Issues covered include steps to create a meal or snack schedule, awareness of movement, limited communication skills, vestibular movement, behavioral factors and visual stimuli.

Each chapter has a gray box with an exercise in eating, which are tips and guidelines for the specific area being discussed. There is a table listing textures with a description, example of foods with this texture and how the child can succeed with these textures.

You begin with three new foods to the child. The procedures and materials are all listed for the steps. The cue cards are in black and white and a bit advanced for my son. This is the perfect book for preschoolers and toddlers who are resistant eaters.

There are many activities for the preschool aged child to explore with a parent, teacher or therapist. The section on food jags is reassuring to parents.

This is a great first book to read in the area of eating issues. I wish this had been published several years earlier so we could have progressed quicker. If you think your child needs feeding therapy - Just Take a Bite should be read so you can start implementing these suggestions.

Just Take A Bite is a fabulous book for parents and caregivers dealing with children who are problem eaters. It dispels the common myth that all children will eat when hungry, and clearly describes how certain environmental problems, physical problems, and sensory problems may hinder a child's eating. The explanations of these underlying issues are thorough and understandable. Practical solutions are provided with remarkably clear instructions as to implementing these strategies on your own. I highly recommend this book for parents whose mealtimes have been negatively affected by a child's behavior.

This book came highly recommended to me by a friend who works with children who have a variety of different special needs. She pointed out that it picks up where a lot of books about eating challenges and "picky eating" behaviors leave off, dealing with the child whose food repertoire may consist of two or three foods; and who may be facing significant physical/behavioral or other challenges that interfere with the process of eating.

I was immediately impressed by the book because it was so detailed and solutions-oriented. Not only do the authors present practical tips, ideas, and solutions that apply to specific situations: they include case studies that show how families can apply them. The book also includes helpful illustrations designed to help parents understand the postural control and other body exercises that are explained in the text. Highly recommended.

For years I have told parents not to create a "clean plate club" or "just one bite club." When I heard someone praise "Just Take a Bite" I had to see what it had to say. The authors do a very good job of discussing common eating issues for young children with and without disabilities who are having trouble at meal time. The descriptions of sensory issues is done quite well. I found many of the same techniques I use and describe in my book, "The Down Syndrome Nutriton Handbook" mentioned as well including "Offering the child at least one preferred food item at every mean ald/or snack" and "Make sure the meail time schedule includes snacks."

The authors focus on the dysfunctions parents are feeling, which is a very important area!

I do wish there was more attention to the relationship between parent and child that can become very broken when there are eating issues. Having a list of tools is great, but it's also important to continue a loving and trusting relationship for the child to feel the limits, rules, and expectations are mutually respectful.

Also, although the authors do not come out and say the target audience is parents of children with sensry dysfunction, autism, or other disabilities, these are likely the main audience (especially considering the publisher focuses on books for people with autism). That is fine, but I was dismayed to see yet one more progression of skills and abilities based on age, which becomes a barrier for parents of kids with cerebral plasy, Down syndrome, and other disabilties where there may be a delay due to altered motor tone. I would like to see the authors offer a paragraph for parents whose children are following a different developmental schedule so they can feel comfortable accessing this important information!

All-in-all, a good first-line book for families who hare having tough mealtimes.

After struggling with my 5 year old son (for 2-3 years now)I finally found this book. It was very beneficial as it helped me to see the issue through my son's eyes. I had scoured the internet for years but could only find guidelines for picky but "normal" eaters. I also thought I'd scream if I had to listen to another person say "he'll eat when he's hungry." This book understands my predicament and made me feel like I'm not alone. While I found a slight contradiction in the book (in terms of how to deal with the issue)it was overall very helpful. My son has just started seeing an occupational therapist for his issues, but having read this book (and taking notes from it) has helped me to communicate with the OT and be knowledgable on the whole topic. GREAT book. I highly recommend it. Thanks go to the authors for writing it. It is a topic that gets overlooked and doctors have no clue what to do about it, hence they give the worst advice. Hopefully more will be written and available in the future on this topic. The nutritional health of our children depends on it.

My son has high functioning autism. He is so smart and Non-autistic in many ways..but NOT with food. I have asked so many "professionals" for YEARS for help..and I have never been able to get anything other than "He'll eat when he's hungry" or "You're worrying too much."
After reading this book, I cried..literally CRIED because I had FINALLY found a book that described my son..and that I was right thinking these people had no idea what was really going on.
I cannot begin to express how happy I am that we have a plan..a real plan..on what we ALL can do. I purcahsed a copy for his school so that his speech therapist AND his occupational therapist can get some insight on how they can help my son also.
It will be a slow process, but I am confident that with real goals we can do this. It is such a relief to have some help in this area..FINALLY!!

Every parent has experienced the problem of their child refusing to eat foods from a specific food group and the stress of meal time turning into a battle of wills between parent and child. Then there are those children who become anxious or even frightened of eating new foods that they've never encountered before. "Just Take A Bite: Easy, Effective Answers To Food Aversions And Eating Challenges" is an ideal instruction manual for parents who find themselves having to deal with just such reluctant or picky eaters. Co-authored by autism and behavioral consultant Lori Ernsperger and pediatric occupational therapist Tania Stegen-Hanson, "Just Take A Bit offers a wealth of simple, practical, step-by-step, effective strategies that parents can employ to have their children eating a balanced and nutritious diet and resolve those mealtime difficulties and challenges. Succinctly organized into ten chapters, "Just Take A Bit" covers identifying resistant eaters; oral-motor development; environmental and behavioral factors contribution to problems with eating; sensory-based and motor-based problems affective the resistant eater; motor-based eating problems vs. sensory-based eating problems; designing and implementing a comprehensive treatment plan; environmental controls; gastrointestinal, physical and oral-motor development; and stages of sensory development for eating. Of special note is the tenth chapter on 'A Recipe for Success' cover cultural factors, medical issues, older children, and allergy-related diets. In addition to concerned parents, "Just Take A Bite" is also very highly recommended as a resource for daycare center personnel and any other professionals having mealtime responsibilities for children who are 'reluctant eaters'.

I think this is a terrific resource. No, it's probably not cutting-edge for a professional, but that's not the audience, which is intended to be broader. My daughter was extremely overselective as a young child--she's merely extraordinarily picky as a 10-year-old. Just by browsing the book, I've gotten a number of ideas about how to expand her food repertoire. She's alerady eating more fruit than she had been a few weeks ago.

The book also does a good job of reassuring parents who've been subjected to the same damn food myths ("If she's hungry enough, she'll eat." Not my kid).

I bought this book becasue my son has a gtube. And he has a big oral aversion and very sensitve to tastes and textures. Book provided a good understanding and how to cope and deal with this sitaution. A lot of good information and tips!!

My son has been eating by mouth for a year now and when we were still tube feeding I came across this book. I learned more from this book in one weekend then I did from a few months with OT. Some things we already learned but some things just popped out on me that I could be doing and it made a difference in getting my son to eat. I recommend this book to anyone with children with food adversions.