What to Do when Your ADHD Child Is a Picky Eater

Some of you had expressed concern over your child's eating habits in your comments to my last post.   And so I thought it would be a good idea to share my experiences with my son who is an extremely picky eater.  Also I want to open up this topic for other readers who may have some tips or suggestions to share about how you get your child to eat. 

If you have a child who has ADHD or other special needs you may find that it is difficult to get your child to eat and if they do eat, they may be very selective in their choices. In addition to having a child who already is a picky eater, some medications your child is taking can also suppress appetite.  ADHD medications such as Adderall, Vyvanse, and Concerta all have side effect precautions that they may cause your child to lose their appetite.  Some medications for mood can have the same effect.  My son takes Prozac and during the first months of taking it, his appetite diminished. 

Then of course if you have a child who has ADHD symptoms, they may be constantly moving and on the go, sometimes forgetting to eat.  Needless to say, my ever fidgety picky eater has always been on the thin side.  My worry, as I am sure any parent who has a child like this, is that my child is not getting enough of the nutrients that he needs to grow properly. 

When my son first started to eat solid foods, he would eat most everything.  I have photos showing him eagerly devouring a variety of foods at his high chair.  I look back on those pictures and ask incredulously, "He used to eat that?"  My son's selectivity to choose only certain foods to eat began pretty much when he turned two. And soon his food preferences became more and more narrow.  At one point in time he only wanted to eat three things:  French Fries, raisins and pears.

Over time we discovered ways to get him to eat more in quantity and also increase the variety of the foods he will choose to eat. 

It has taken much effort but my son is in the normal healthy weight range for his age and height and he now eats a more balanced diet.  Does he eat all varieties of food?  No.  But he still gets what he needs to be healthy and that is what counts.

There are several issues which I think are very important to think about when your child is refusing to eat. 

• 1. Your child's reluctance to eat certain foods may indicate that he or she has a food allergy or intolerance. After seeing a nutritionist (who was no help to us at all), our pediatrician, and gastrointestinologist (a gut doctor), we finally found an allergist who found that my son was allergic to multiple food items.
  
• 2. Your child may have an aversion to some foods because of their texture. Some children, such as mine, have sensory issues which cause them to shy away from things which feel a certain way. For example, my son has never liked mushy foods. He prefers crunchy or chewy. We all have these sorts of preferences but for some children it is more extreme. Sensory integration (a method where an occupational therapist works with your child to decrease their aversion to sensory stimuli which in this case may include certain textures of food) may help in this case.
  
• 3. You don't want to ever enter into a power struggle over food. You will be setting you and your child up for bigger problems if you enter into this mine field. You don't want your child to develop a true eating disorder in the years to come. Try not to use value laden words of "good" or "bad" to describe your child's food preferences. Punishment for how your child eats or doesn't eat is simply not going to be effective.