The gustatory system (taste) is responsible for identifying and recognizing flavors. A child can have a low gustatory threshold and avoid strong tastes, while others may have high sensory thresholds and require strong flavors for their bodies to process what they taste. This can affect a child’s eating and drinking habits. Children who have difficulty with gustatory processing may seem like picky eaters and have challenges at mealtimes.
Gustatory seekers will require and enjoy strong flavors. This helps their body better understand what they taste. They will often like:
- New flavors
- Strongly flavored foods
- Sour or tart foods
- Chewing gum
- Flavored lip balms
- Popsicles
- Crunchy foods
Gustatory avoiders will dislike strong flavors and textures. They should be:
- Gently encouraged to participate
- Never forced to try a food
- Introduced to try new foods by exploring with other senses first
Forcing a child with sensory processing needs to eat a food can make the situation worse. If the child is not ready to try a new food, forcing the issue will only lead to the child becoming reluctant to try new foods. Food play and exploration and working with a feeding therapist is the best way to help the child try new foods.
Download the following Sensory Needs Checklist to help determine your own or your child’s sensory needs and follow along for our blog series highlighting each of the sensory systems!
To learn even more about sensory adaptations and the importance of sensory play, enroll in our FREE online course “Teaching Strategies: Let’s Play!”