refuses to eat

my grandson stopped eating at 6 months. He has only grown 1 inch and gained 1 pound since then. He is now 15 months. He will go days without eating except a little breast milk. When he eats, he will only eat a couple bites of any type of food. When he was younger he would vomit after eating. He still does a little now, but mostly, he will chew on food for a while and then spit it out instead of swallowing. He has has blood tests, barium xray, stomach and chest xrays. He now gets sick a lot. At 6 months he was at 90% in height. What is our next step? Is there a way to see if he recieves signals that he is hungry?

[Renee Radenberg]

His weight is just below the 5th percentile and his height is between the 10-25th percentile, as per the measurements written, for his age. Some children need to learn how to swallow and chew or needs help with textured foods. Some children just do not know how to do it and need to be taught which takes time and patience. They need to learn how to chew and swallow food properly; it is not really an instinct behavior like sucking. Has he been evaluated on how to chew food? If not, then suggest getting him evaluated, by going to your MD, and start therapy so he can start to eat regular food. The most important thing is to RELAX at meals. If he will not eat a certain food the proper way, do not make a fuss over it. Suggest giving him Pediasure or make milkshakes (milk and ice cream blended) for additional calories (which will give him nutrients he needs) until he is able to chew and swallow. Hoped this helped you.