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Signs of a Picky Eater

While many families anticipate sitting down to enjoy a relaxing meal, others approach family meal times like a soldier preparing for battle. Some parents find themselves spending every dinner time begging their child to eat a vegetable or try a new food. While some children go through minor picky eating phases, others suffer from oral defensiveness, a sensory processing disorder that inhibits a person's ability to receive adequate nourishment . Learn to identify the signs and symptoms of picky eating caused by oral defensiveness to help yourself, your child or a friend overcome their problem.

  1. Preference for Bland Foods

    • Picky eaters with a sensory processing disorder almost always prefer bland foods. Children going through a phase of selective eating usually enjoy at least some salty and sweet foods, but those with oral hypersensitivity will refuse salty and sweet items in addition to spicy, sour and seasoned dishes. In addition, picky eaters with this kind of disorder will also gag if forced to eat textured, crunchy foods like raw vegetables and apple. Some will only eat soft, pureed foods well past their toddler years.

    Extremely Limited Food Repertoire

    • This picky eating symptom is common in both picky eaters without disorders and those with oral defensiveness. Picky eaters usually limit their diets to a handful of familiar foods and refuse to try new dishes. Children with a sensory processing disorder may be very selective about what brands of food items they eat, due to a fear of eating unfamiliar items. Picky eaters are skeptical, even fearful, of restaurants and may refuse to eat at other people's homes.

    Difficulty Chewing

    • Unlike children going through a picky eating phase, people with severe picky eating problems and oral defensiveness often have difficulty chewing food. Swallowing and sucking may present problems for people with this kind of sensory processing disorder as well. These issues --- along with a distaste of texture --- contribute to a severe picky eater's preferences for pureed foods that don't need to be chewed. Picky eaters who dislike chewing tend to choke easily or have an extreme fear of choking.

    Only Eating One Food

    • Picky eaters with and without sensory processing disorder will sometimes only eat one kind of food. Typically the picky eater's food of choice will be bland, unseasoned and soft, especially if he suffers from a sensory processing disorder. Kids often choose starchy foods free of fruits and vegetables like plain pasta, pizza or french fries. The tendency to eat only one food, also called a "food jag," is relatively common in toddlers. If your older child experiences a "food jag" for a significant period of time he may have a severe picky eating problem.

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