I receive a lot of mail on the subject of diets. Parents are concerned about a child who eats very few foods, never want fruits or vegetables, or eats from only one food group like carbohydrates. Educators feel concerned when they see a student eating processed foods at school which can result in energy spikes and crashes. The subject of…
Maureen Flanagan’s new book Improving Speech and Eating Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders shows how to implement a program at home or school. Ms. Flanagan states, “Working on oral motor skills will help expand the child’s diet, accept oral input from a toothbrush, increase the number of sounds that are produced, and assist with imitation and initiation of speech production.” Written for parents and teachers, this book details techniques and activities to work on oral motor skills and explains the reasons for working on these skills.
Nothing causes more exasperation to an already stressed out parent of a child with special needs than the child who makes mealtimes a disaster! In my 25 tears as a pediatric occupational therapist, and a mother of three children, I know firsthand how developing socially acceptable eating and drinking skills promotes quality of life.
Author: Lori Ernsperger, Tania Stegen-Hanson Publishing Info: March 2004 Reviewed by Maureen Bennie: Director, Autism Awareness Centre Inc. One of the common complaints from parents of children with autism spectrum disorders is their children have picky eating habits. Some children eat only a few foods or foods from only two food groups such as meat and grains/carbohydrates, others refuse to try…