My son has a history of SID (motor planning, tactile defensiveness, etc…). As a toddler he used to choke (and then vomit) food almost daily. Eventually he outgrew this particular problem.
Now, years later he is starting to have a problem with swallowing. For quite a few months now he has been having a noticable problem. He’ll be chewing on food and then go spit it out in the bathroom. This morning he did this while having cereal (Product 19 with milk).
Although this has been noticable recently, I have to add that he has never been a “big eater” like most boys his age. He eats more like a little kid. In fact, over the years I’ve kind of joked that he’s my “air plant” or that he’s on a “liquid diet.” I do try to limit how much milk he has with meals (to encourage him to eat food first), but he never really eats too much. Although he does like orange flavored chicken quite a bit and will finish a child’s portion from Panda Express. Overall, he just doesn’t eat a lot. He is tall and slender, but not unhealthy looking…so I think he’s okay.
But I’m worried about these swallowing problems. Any suggestions on how to help him with this?
Thanks!
I would have a talk with the pediatrician
and get a referral to an SLP that specializes in Dysphagia/swallowing. Chances are there is nothing wrong but perhaps they can help him with this problem as this is technically an area of expertise for SLP’s that have chosen this as a specialty. I have worked with some patients who have dysphagia but it isn’t one of my favorite things to do… :?
Re: swallowing difficulties
Good advice from Patti. If this is a relatively new onset, it is possible that there is a physical cause. For example, my husband experienced swallowing problems because asymptomatic acid reflux disease had cause a narrowing in his esophagus. Dilation of his esophagus cured the problem and prilosec prevents it from recurring.
Re: swallowing difficulties
Wow, those are GREAT answers! I’ll make an appointment for the doctor and look into any possible physical causes. If everything checks out okay I’ll look into OT.
I have a wonderful child, but he is quite expensive!
Follow up?
Just wondering if you were able to get some answers. My son has SI and although he had sensitivity in his mouth when he was younger (age 1-3), he has outgrown that part. He went to the Happiness House and was schooled with other children with SI. One child had extremesensitivity in his mouth and would scream constantly when any type of food was administered. Can you provide a follow up to this post?
Thanks
Re: swallowing difficulties
Hi Anne Marie,
My son never had sensitivity in his mouth, I think his problem originally was more of a oral motor problem and maybe a swallowing difficulty. Fortunately, the swallowing problem did go away after a couple of weeks so I didn’t need to pursue it.
But I am again wondering about other things (does it ever end?!!!). He often has stomach aches and even though he’s 11 years old he doesn’t have a huge appetite. Everyone says that boys at around 9 or 10 become “eating machines.” I’ve observed this with most of his friends, but he himself only seems to finish half on his plate (and I don’t make full plates for him!). He still seems to eat like a much younger child. Our family is pretty slender so that would have an impact. However, his sister does have Crohn’s disease so there’s always a chance he could get it as well. Yet, he doesn’t have bleeding or other signs of CD. I really don’t want to overreact, but it might be good to at least get some blood testing and possibly an upper GI just to be safe. I’m also looking further at the allergy/autoimmune possiblitiy similar to what Victoria described. I think a lot more problems than we realize may be autoimmune related.
I’m glad to hear your own son had good success with OT. I think it’s abosolutely necessary to deal with any senstivities like this.
A collection of personal experiences and thoughts, things to look into:
My daughter, all her life, has had to eat six small meals a day. She gets desperately hungry; until fifteen she was terribly underweight and had no reserves at all; but half a standard serving was all she could take, Not wanting to continue the family history of weight problems I let her eat what and when she wanted, and she loves broccoli and is slim so it must have worked.
You can try serving your son less food but more often. Get things he likes that are reasonably nutritious and encourage him to microwave a small portion when he needs it. Then you serve him a small supper later as well.
When I was a child and *not* overweight, I tended to gag on greasy foods. It’s unfortunate that I learned how to swallow them at college. My daughter is “picky” about many things including grease, slimy textures, and other things, but since she likes many healthy foods I let her be. Is he gagging at things he doesn’t really need? If he is healthy and active, let him not eat them.
My daughter could never eat breakfast. It takes an hour or two in the morning for her metabolism to rev up (at which point it shifts into permanenet High). Then she eats a mid-morning meal instead. She’s healthy, likes veggies, and doesn’t have the family weight problem so who needs breakfast? Consider this as an option for your son.
My daughter had chronic tonsillitis from age two to seventeen. Has your son had his tonsils checked? Recently?
I have a throat problem caused by my weird autoimmune/allergy thing; the mucous membranes and salivary glands swell up easily, and the thyroid gland in the lower throat also swelled up and quit working. Some of the things that set it off badly are cigarettes and perfumes. Even one cigarette in the house in a day can do me in, Ivory soap gives me panic attacks, and a Glade plug-in made one room uninhabitable for four months until I gave up after the third cleaning and painted it floor to ceiling. My daughter’s throat irritations and following tonsillitis were set off by allervgies as well, especially ice cream (I get really nasty at people who slip “treats” to kids behind mother’s back.)
Have you tested your son for alergies? Have you cleared the house of unnecessary allergens? This can really help the tactile things too, if the skin isn’t sensitized.
Good luck and hope you find something to help.