The sensory system can play a factor for many children with feeding challenges. Children who struggle to eat have more sensory issues than their peers. If a child is dysregulated it can affect his/her feeding skills.
Five ares of the Sensory System:
1) Visual – some children will reject food based on appearance or change in color. A child may look away from the food, push the food away
2) Tactile (Touch) – children may reject foods based on texture. They may avoid touching food, spitting food out or overstuffing (decreased awareness – pocketing food) or present with lip splaying . A child may make a facial grimace, finger splay (after touching) or use teeth to clear the utensil versus their lips.
3)Auditory (Hearing) – a child may reject a food that sounds too crunchy when you eat it, covers ears when eating or if the eating environment is too loud.
4) Olfactory (Smell) – child may cover their nose, start gagging at the smell of food, present with facial grimacing, or watery eyes.
5) Gustatory (Taste) – a child may reject a food which has made them gag or vomit in the past. They may also shudder, make a facial grimace or lip splay when tasting the food.
