I have wondered for a while whether J has pica.
As I have already mentioned he has severe food issues. A limited amount of food will pass his lips and if I try to get him to eat something new he will always gag,choke,spit it out or try to vomit. An example of this is when I tried to get him to have fusili pasta (the spiral one) instead of spaghetti with the spag bol (again the only spag bol he will have is M&S Kids range one). He chewed a bit then panicked and was spitting it out whilst screaming and trying to escape the room.
We know he does not have a chew problem as he can handle toast,chips,chocolate etc which require some effort to eat.
J has, for a long time, enjoyed eating paper,card,toilet tissue,kitchen paper,elastic bands, threads from clothing,threads he has loosened deliberatly from bath towels,mud,sand,baby wipes and toothpaste. Most of the time he will swallow the bits as I only ever find little telltale signs he's eaten these things by finding mushed up little balls of them in his room.
I know Js struggle to cope with new textures in food is mostly down to his fears of food. Take for example this - he will eat fruit pots (the pureed fruit pots designed for babies when being weaned, so no lumps whatsoever) and loves them. But, he won't touch fruit in its natural state. He never has done apart from bananas and even now they get thrown away when offered to him. So we know he loves the taste of fruit, its just the actual work of eating them that seems to be his hurdle. I have tried to increase the lumps in my own fruit purees, but he gags the second the mixture touches his tongue and refuses to take a second mouthful.
But why then is he happy to work tissue paper around his mouth and swallow it but will not do this with pasta or an apple? Control? Does he feel in control of the situation as he is the one deciding what to put in his mouth? I have never really gotten answers from the professionals about it either. They are not really concerned about his apparent pica and food phobia.
We have been referred to a nutritionalist several times in the past three years but no appointment has ever been offered.
I can only hope that as time goes on he loses his fears around food and he starts to enjoy a more varied and healthy menu.
