I work with autistic kids. I've mentioned before that I am a behavior analyst. One of the things I work with is feeding disorders. Now, part of the issue is not knowing how to manipulate one's mouth to redistribute food you've chewed, knowing when to swallow, etc. But part of it is just pickiness. Many kids are very rigid and selective, only liking certain colors, flavors, or textures of foods. Meals become highly ritualized---I wave my hand five times, pick up my spoon, lick it twice, scoop up food---and most will only eat at a certain time in a certain place, like home for dinner. No breakfast, no lunch at school, just one meal and if it isn't at home, skip it. One client was so adverse to eating different foods he would make himself vomit repeatedly until his mom was so disgusted or scared she took the food away and gave him something else.

Now I'm not calling this girl autistic. Not in the least. But I want to make a point: all of my old feeding clients are happy, healthy eaters who eat fruits and vegetables daily and eat both at home and at school. They've gone from 2-10 percentile in growth for their age to at pace or better with their peers. A simple program, often just based on not giving in no matter how bad the tantruming got, to having a small reward or dessert in the beginning to 'work' for, got most of these kids eating.

If the mom had one fucking ounce of parenting or common sense, that kid would have had a healthy diet growing up, and would have one today. As it stands, she's going to be in trouble for a long while. It really doesn't sound like she wants to change her diet yet, despite the scare. There are no words for the disgust I feel, reading this.