3-12 months-Outdated with ASD and Meals Selectivity Will Quickly Run Out of One of many Solely Meals She’ll Eat
It is not uncommon for children on the autism spectrum to struggle with sensory sensitivities and, as a result, food selectivity. Many children and even some adults with this disorder cannot stand the taste and texture of certain foods and therefore limit their diet to a few selected foods themselves. This can lead to malnutrition problems at times, and it can also be a major problem if something happens that restricts their access to their favorite foods.
In the case of three-year-old Libby Crossfield, pandemic-induced delivery bottlenecks are the culprit for the fact that two of the only foods she will eat are not available in stores. Three-year-old Libby only eats the Aldi brand Weetabix and Mamia baby food in two flavors – spaghetti Bolognese and spaghetti with tomato and mozzarella sauce.
Libby’s mother, Emma Armstrong, was looking for the baby formula Libby needs in all of the Aldi stores near her, but it was sold out in every place. She left her number for the managers and asked them to call them when they got it back in stock.
Emma has also contacted the manufacturer to find out when Aldi will get the next delivery. So far, a lot of people have been working on the subject, including Libby’s family and friends. She was able to get a few buckets of food from other people she found in stores, but she was unable to build up a regular supply.
Emma, who also has 5-year-old twins and works in a restaurant, usually keeps her fridge full to be sure, but stores have been sold out long enough or so far that it was almost empty and she had to seek and beg for help.
“Aldi says they can’t tell me where it’s in stock and they don’t give me the phone numbers for all the stores, so I drove to them all, gave them my phone number and said, ‘Please call me’ when supplies arrive.
“It may seem like a bit of a problem to some people, but we’re just bumping into a wall. Aldi doesn’t help at all as a standard answer. I know they have the stock, the manufacturer told me it arrived from France over the weekend. I only need them to get me some. “
An Aldi spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear that Emma cannot find our Mamia dishes in the store. We work hard with our supplier to get her Libby’s favorite Mamia dishes on time for her big birthday. “
Libby’s fourth birthday is this Saturday. Emma expects to get some food from Aldi at the weekend, but she doesn’t know how much and whether she will get it regularly.
If Libby only had wheat grains in her diet, she could quickly become malnourished due to a lack of nutrients. But Emma also fears that not eating Mamia baby food for long periods of time could make it difficult to get it back into Libby’s diet because it is so sensitive to different textures and tastes. Losing familiarity with the baby food could lead to difficulty eating it again. In fact, she used to eat mamia baby food in other flavors, but her own diet has restricted her even more over time than she used to.
“Libby has never eaten solid food and is still spoon-fed by an adult,” says Emma. “She used to eat more of a variety of baby foods, but this is reduced to these specific foods. My concern is that if this food is removed from their diet for a period of time, I will not be able to reintroduce it. This leads to malnutrition and eventually we could end up tube or rod feeding. “
Emma says tracking down Libby’s beloved baby food has become a full-time job. Other important tasks, like finding a school that would meet Libby’s special needs, had to be set aside until she resolved this important problem.
Emma and her husband Andy Crossfield say their daughter is a “little miracle”. She was naturally conceived after the couple needed IVF to have their cubs.
“She’s such a happy little girl,” said Emma. “She knows a few words, but she cannot communicate effectively. She can call me “mom” when I walk in the room, but when she wants my attention she doesn’t say “mom”. She uses echolalia so she repeats sentences. She can’t tell me something is wrong, but when desperate or upset she repeats “what’s wrong, what’s wrong”. However, she loves her letters and numbers and can read even if she doesn’t always understand the words. “
In the midst of this chaos, Emma is planning Libby’s birthday party.
“She loves Peppa Pig, so she gets a lot of Peppa Pig toys for her birthday,” she says. “We’ll get her a cake. She won’t eat it, but we always get a cake for her birthday. It would be nice to just be able to concentrate on your day and not have to worry about running out of only food. “
As many of our readers know, this issue is about more than just having a young child picky. Libby has a real disorder and real sensitivities that require special care and attention. We hope Libby is getting more of her beloved spaghetti baby formula soon! Happy birthday sweet girl!
