Day 2 of Feeding Therapy

The feeding clinic was busier than we had expected (or perhaps we were too ambitious to think we could post every day). So, we will post Jackson’s daily progress each day this week.

For starters, we could not believe all of the progress that our clients made in the first 2 days. By the end of day 2, three children were eating well! One child was having severe withdrawals from his gluten and dairy. If you have not heard of this (his physicians had not either), you can read more about what another little girl went through as she came off her addicting Sonic Grilled Cheese here. The other little boy who is still struggling to eat has a combination of physiological (he has oral motor delays) and non-physiological feeding difficulties (behavioral issues around food preferences for flavor and texture).

Changing Reinforcers

Meanwhile, we tried to move Jackson from fluff to a different, more natural reinforcer. Jackson loves Lay’s potato chips so we tried to see if he would eat new foods in exchange for a few chips. Again, Kendall had to keep Jackson from having chips during other times of the day and this is not an easy task but she was a champ and she made it happen.

Breakfast Day 2

Jackson had gluten-free pancakes, sausage, strawberries, and grilled tomatoes for breakfast. He consumed a total of 30 bites. After the 8th bite, we began requiring Jackson to eat 2 bites before he could get his reinforcer. As his food acceptance and consumption increased, his behaviors decreased. He expelled only 4 bites, he tried to elope only twice, and he had only 12 instances of aggression towards Missy. Jackson engaged in 9 instances of verbal and vocal refusal and he engaged in 8 instances of physical refusal. How many adolescents do you know who will eat grilled tomato for breakfast? What a champ!

Lunch Day 2

Lunch on the second day of therapy included coconut milk yogurt with gluten-free granola, ham sandwich with gluten-free bread, oranges, and gluten-free cookies for dessert. Jackson consumed another 30 bites during lunch. He expelled food on 9 times but he did not elope at all. He stood up once as if to elope but he sat down when Missy asked. Jackson had 2 gags during lunch and both were with oranges. Fruit has proven to be hard for him. This is probably due to its wet texture. Jackson has dyspraxia so he obviously has some oral motor issues as well. He is learning to chew and keep his lips closed but this will take continued practice.

Jackson engaged in 20 instances of verbal and vocal refusal and 12 instances of physical refusal (e.g., turning his head or pushing the spoon). Jackson started a new behavior of bouncing up and down in his seat. It was unclear to us if this was a new avoidant behavior or if he was happy about learning to eat these new foods. He engaged in this behavior 22 times.

Dinner Day 2

For dinner on the second day of therapy, Jackson ate cooked carrots, white rice, chicken, and grapes. He ate 3/4 of an entire chicken breast, a portion of rice, and several carrots. After dinner, Jackson ate a gluten-free cupcake with dairy free icing. In the past, he only wanted to lick the icing so Kendall wanted him to learn to eat the cupcake and icing together. He ate about 1/2 of the dessert.

Jackson’s behaviors improved dramatically for this least meal of the day. He engaged in only 1 vocal refusal. He stood up 3 times (but he sat down when asked). He tried to take Missy’s gloves off once (as if to finish the meal). Jackson gagged only once during this meal (over the carrot). After the first 8 bites, we moved Jackson to a fixed ratio schedule meaning that he had to eat 3 bites of new food before he could have a chip.

Jackson’s sitter, Chardonnay learned to help with data collection during this session (thanks for the help–any chance you want a job?!?!). Meanwhile, Kendall will learn to implement the intervention tomorrow. Stay tuned to see how Jackson progresses!