The food desensitization program is going great!
Thanksgiving is approaching quickly and if you would like to encourage your child to try new foods at home, this is the 12 step hierarchy we follow for each food.
12 Step Hierarchy
1. Tolerate food in therapy room
2. Tolerate food on therapy table
3. Tolerate food within 1 ft.
4. Touch food and throw away
5. Smell food and throw away
6. Kiss food and throw away
7. Lick food and throw away
8. Lick food five times and throw away
9. Break food with teeth and throw away
10. Chew food five times and throw away
11. Eat a small piece
12. Eat an entire piece
Keep in mind that if you follow these steps, you need to provide lots of reinforcement at every step, in the form of praise and perhaps a bite of preferred food too. With the earlier steps of tolerating the food, it should be a very relaxed presentation - "Oh, look, you have a carrot on the table - great job!" and that's the end of the expectation. We allow the child to throw the food away when snack is done during the steps 1-10. Keep it fun and happy, and don't stress if it takes some time to progress through the steps. It is not a quick process. Encouraging a positive attitude toward new food is the most important part!
