Not eating. Not vomiting, not eating "a little", no: NOT EATING

Our twenty-one month old son, who soon will be undergoing evaluation for likely having autism (has developmental delays, etc.), has completely stopped eating. Since approximately last Thursday evening, he hasn't taken so much as a bite. Not a morsel. Whatever is put in his mouth will promptly be spit out (if we can even put it in). When I say nothing, I mean nothing. Not so much as a raisin or a drop of yogurt or any speck of food.

He will drink, milk and juice only (he won't take the pediasure we tried to give him). However, he isn't drinking any more than he ever did, possibly less. Yesterday he may have had two half-full sippy cups of milk, and perhaps two half-full sippy cups of juice. Our sippy cup has about the capacity of a standard coffee cup. His energy level has lowered.

For whatever no reason, and seemingly spontaneously (he was a VERY good eater before), he simply stopped. I don't know if this is related to his *most likely* autism, he has displayed this type of behavior before in some forms. At 5 months he swore off his favorite toy, a little toy train that will travel a few feet when a button is pushed. The batteries got low and it stopped responding very well (and we were slow to replace it), after that, he simply quit. Fresh batteries, enthusiastic participation by mom and dad made no difference. Even months later and up til now, if we bring it back out and run it, he will look at it with a very dead stare and make no attempt to touch it. He will walk around it as if it's an obstacle.

We took him to an overnight clinic, had him x-rayed, etc. They said that (at the time, Friday) he was hydrated enough, and couldn't find anything wrong with him. They said to push the liquids and seek further help come Monday if there was no change. We're obviously very concerned and just thought we'd throw this out there to see if you guys have any additional ideas. Given the nature of the question, I'll probably post this in the nutrition and autism forums. Thanks

[Renee Radenberg]

The measurements you wrote, his weight is on the 50th percentile and height is above the 95th percentile for his age. Suggest making milkshakes with the milk, Pediasure, and ice cream for additional calories and protein. Hopefully he will accept them.

[wildcard_seven]

Thank you. Looks like this one maybe solved. This morning the doctor found signs of strep throat. Perhaps the symptoms weren't there when the other doctor investigated Friday. It's been stressful not to see him take so much as a bite over the weekend but thankfully after this morning's visit and some medication he took two bites of pudding so he seems to be on the road to recovery. Will take your recommendation for extra calories til he gets there, though.

Thanks