My friend Laura got the kids some hot-wheels sets as a little gift when she came at the beginning of the summer. The trucker, trailer, and speedboat from the set have become Simon's favorites. He has developed his fine motor skills enough to attach the trailer himself, load the boat onto it, and drive around his bowl and cup.
We use it as the current method of providing him with a distraction while we shovel food into his face. This kid has required distraction while eating almost from the very beginning when he first started on the pureed jar food. He's getting better and better at eating, but we still use toys as a crutch.
I'm documenting this in hopes that it will one day be a distant memory that I will have forgotten all about, because he will finally consistently feed himself entire meals.
A friend of mine at work who has a kid that refused to eat to the extent that she had a feeding tube, took her to some intensive (and expensive) therapy program, and she said distraction while eating was one the main methods they used, so I feel quite justified in using these tools. We're keeping Simon off the feeding tube and out of the therapy program we couldn't afford.
