poor diete and dev delays

[joanna hanna]

hello my daughter just turned 3.  she has a very poor diet and willnot eat very much at all went to wic they said she was starving to death but then i pointed out she drinks a lot and we have her on 2-3can of pedia sureper day,  so katelynn is getting enough nutrition to keep her going she is only 25pounds and 34 in tall.  she has been on pedia sure for 3mon and gained 2pounds.  she is also dev delayed although catching up she has a condition callled verbalauditory agnosia which is related to landen kleffner syndrome but she has had 3 normal EEG's sensory integration problems (she is hte segger, very hyper and asilly destracted, hypotonia mild,and bilateral renal reflux with a scarred right kidney with a unknown amount of loss in function,cong scoliosis, and is susspected to have the VATERS SYNDROME, can any of these things cause problems with a child being able to eat right or their appetiete, katelynn was nursed for 16mo and i have heard this can cuase some feeding problems when they get older because they nurse more frequentally but at smaller amounts and their stomaches never stretched i know you may not  know rthe answere to that question but could there be any trueth katelynn would never take a 8oz bottle until she was 14mo when i would pump for her i would never get more than 6oz out at a time, and she is just know getting to whee she will drink 10-12oz but qill not eat anything after she is done,  also when katelynn referes to her self everything is katies hat, or katies what ever, she used to say everthing was mine know it is katies?  but if you ask her her name she says she has no name and will not say hers is this norml for a 3 year old?

thanks
joannna
katelynn 3 (tethered cord syndrome surgically repaired  11-29-00, spinal lipoma,cong scoliosis, partial sacral agenesis, syrnix, dev delays mild, hypotonia mild, seizures, sensory integratio disorder, bilateral renal reflux, right kidney damage, mild mitral regurgitation)

[Mrs. Howard]

I can understand your pain.  My son has a lot of the same concerns and was finally diagnosed as being "autistic" last year.  I too had him on WIC and although they mean well, they have their agends.  For our son, when we took him off all Milk products his seizures, sensory, digestive problems and almost all his autistic symptoms subsided.  We still have him in a lot of OT, PT and speach therapy, however with the help of excellent doctors and a lot of research on my part, we have found a more simple and pleasent solution to our years of pain.  Our solution might not be your solution but one thing is for sure you are going to be the one that has to find the answers.  Your child needs your common sense.  God Bless!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Unfortunately, I cannot answer your questions about your daughter's various medical conditions and the impact they might have on eating behavior, including diet.

Relative to her refusal to acknowledge her name in a direct fashion, this is a bit unusual for her age. However, given her developmental problems it is not surprising that she also displays some difficulty with identity as evidenced in her use of language.