“I want you to think about a food or texture that makes you feel ‘ick.’ Now, imagine someone bigger and faster than you pushing it into your mouth! Then, imagine you are strapped to a chair and can’t verbally communicate!”    

Speech and Language Pathologist, Nikki Henry, treats children with oral-motor and sensory disorders, and says the nightmare description above can exacerbate feeding issues. That’s why she’s a big fan of “Born To Eat,” a book that creates a whole-foods family centered approach to baby’s first bite.

You can read more about the particulars of this approach in the first part of my book review for “Born to Eat” here.

The book is based on baby-led weaning, which allows baby to explore a variety of flavors, textures and shapes in a child-directed manner.

Henry says this approach can be particularly beneficial to children with certain feeding issues, because it allows them to become familiar with and manage a variety of textures.

Henry cautions that this approach is not a “cure all for sensory issues” but she strongly believes some sensory issues may be avoided.

“The bottle, breast, or spoonful of pureed food goes straight to the back of the mouth. This robs the child of experiencing the preparation phase before swallowing. When an actual texture is finally introduced they do not know how to manage it, which can sometimes produce anxiety and avoidance of specific textures,” Henry explains.

3 Steps to Begin the “Born to Eat” approach with a child who is delayed or has feeding issues:

1. First, Henry says “identify where your child falls in his development.” For example, if your 6-month-old child is developmentally at a 3-4 month level, then they are not ready to dive into solids.

“Keep in mind that it’s not just about food in mouth and swallow,” Henry explains. Fine and gross motor skills are essential in a child’s readiness to eat.

Your child needs to be able to sit with little support, and must be able to bring food to his mouth independently. Henry emphasizes the child should sit upright in a highchair with foot support, and the caregiver should always be near and watchful.

2. Henry recommends continuing breast or bottle while introducing solids.

The “Born to Eat” philosophy is “food before one is just fun.” This mantra may be extended for children with Down syndrome, who are slower to develop. Henry says this means, at this point, solids serve as a tool or exploration and perfecting texture management skills, not to provide all of baby’s nutritional needs.

3. Lastly, start with safe foods outlined in the book.

Henry recommends finger-sized foods (2-3 inch sticks) that they can hold and independently mouth.  You can use larger chip size/shape foods as well (not actual chips).

“A good food safety test is if you can push the food into the roof of your mouth with your tongue it is okay.  With my daughter we did a lot of avocado, green beans (strings off), bananas and even steak!  When she was gumming the steak, we were confident that she couldn’t break a piece off but she definitely enjoyed all the delicious juices (and the nutrition it provided).”

Even children on gtubes can start BLW if they are cleared by their pediatrician.

“I do recommend oral exploration especially during the feeds to make the connection between the mouth, eating and feeling full.  If oral feeds aren’t allowed at the time, try mouthing a toy, a rubber spoon/fork, and/or a sensory chewing tool (I like chewy tubes),” Henry says of children with gtubes.

When a child has no oral stimulation for an extended amount of time, it can be a sensory shock when they do finally eat orally.  Henry says it’s important to know you child’s current skill level well and work closely with their intervention team.

Baby-led weaning allows our children to explore different textures, flavors, and shapes. Henry says this is the exact approach she’s taken with other oral-motor tools. The two approaches mesh well together, and will serve children well in the long run.

Disclosure: I received no compensation, sponsoring, financial incentive, or other inducements to write this article

 

Sometimes the biggest barrier to inclusion for individuals with disabilities is their family.

For fear that their child will be hurt, parents can sometimes overcompensate and overprotect.

I’m guilty of this sometimes, even though I try really hard to have similar expectations for Troy as I have for my typical children. It’s human nature, I suppose.

But we must practice what we preach! If I want Troy to be included in our community, then I need to create equity and inclusion within our home.

Family meals are a simple way that I’ve created equity in our home.

Troy is expected to help set the table, sit with his family during meals, and help clear off and clean the table when we’re finished.

Seems like a simple routine, and he’s pretty proficient at this now. But believe me when I say it took YEARS of throwing food and Troy getting up and down to clean up the mess before he mastered this routine.

My approach to this routine all started with Baby Led Weaning. The new book, “Born to Eat,” creates a whole philosophy surrounding BLW and family-centered meals that really piqued my interest as a special needs mom.

May be you’ve heard of it, but don’t think it’s appropriate for children with disabilities. It does seem intimidating at face value:

• When child shows readiness for solid foods, parent presents whole food options (that are appropriate in texture for an infant) that the rest of the family is already eating. (no time or money sent on baby food jars, or making your own baby purees)

• Parent decides what, when, and where a child eats.

• Child decides how much and if he/she wants to eat.

-Cue the worried parent-

Listen, I’ve been there.

We all worry that our child isn’t eating enough, but this philosophy is really about honoring self-regulation and self-reliance in your child. Two attributes that are so important to the success of individuals with Down syndrome.

The best part is “Born To Eat” takes a nonjudgmental approach. You can dive in, or just implement parts of baby-led weaning.

Read Related Post Here: Born to Eat Part 2: Benefits of Baby-Led Weaning for Babies with Feeding Issues

But what about oral motor issues, you ask? It’s true, many babies and children with Down syndrome have feeding issues.

“Born to Eat” author, Wendy Jo Peterson, says you should always consult your pediatrician before starting any solid foods with your child, but a whole foods approach may actually benefit a child with oral-motor sensory issues.

Most feeding experts that Wendy Jo works with feel that empowering a child early on to work on these skills is important, but all agree that this may not be appropriate for all infants all the time.

Every parent has to navigate these waters on their own and seek the support of feeding experts who truly understand a Baby-led feeding approach.

Dr. Katja Rowell is an excellent resource for parents who wish to try a baby-led approach, she was one of “Born To Eat’s” technical readers, and fully supports a BLW approach to feeding infants.

The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association also has a blog post on the benefits of BLW here.

Children often begin to develop picky eating habits early on. “By using varied textures and flavors early on infants (when they are most apt to be accepting to new things) can become acquainted with these flavors and textures.

“Picky eating to a degree is natural,” Wendy Jo explains.

Understanding the Division of Responsibility (coined by Ellyn Satter) can help every parent navigate these waters and learn how their own responses contribute to picky eating.

Read Related Post Here: Our Birth Story: Double the Blessing, Each One of a Kind

In the book, “Born To Eat” shares examples of positive language around the dinner table, and reminds parents that children have the right to what they choose to chew or not.

The less we react the less the table becomes a battleground. Food should not be a battleground or used as punishment or reward.

“Food only becomes an issue when we make it an issue,” author Wendy Jo Peterson explains.

Embracing a family-centered, whole-foods approach is a simple way to start on the path to self-regulation and self-reliance in our children with Down syndrome. Both of these attributes will serve them well in other parts of their life.

In Part 2 of this book review, I’ll talk to a Speech and Language Pathologist who will walk us through the specific benefits of a baby-led weaning approach and how to start on your child on solid foods.

Disclosure: I received no compensation, sponsoring, financial incentive, or other inducements to write this article

How have you taken a family-centered, whole foods approach to feeding your little one? I’d love to hear your food stories below!