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Will he take milk from a spoon? Maybe it would get him used to eating that way and you could gradually thicken it?

Or what about runny rice cereal in a bottle? I don't know if that would be recommended.

It took my LO a long time to eat solids. The first solid she ever successfully ate was those yogurt melts. Also, she ate much better if I wasn't watching over her in the beginning. So I'd put some yogurt melts on her tray then walk into the kitchen and put dishes away. I could still see her and glance over, but I wasn't hovering. Maybe try that? I know he's a older, though, so not sure if that will work. Good luck!

Do you need a referral with your insurance? B had feeding issues so we started taking him to a pediatric OT at a local hospital. Our insurance covered it as well as SLP services. We stopped once EI services began.

Also, maybe look into developmental pediatricians in your area?

I agree with Mrs. Jacks that he should probably have a swallowing eval. In my experience speech therapists do that (though my experience is with an adult - my husband).

It shouldn't hurt to keep trying with purées and soft foods like yogurt. When DH was in speech therapy (after his brain injury) I learned that thicker soft foods are supposed to be easier to swallow than thin liquids, since thin liquids can run to the back of the throat quickly and can cause aspiration.

Maybe you could model eating for him without pressuring him and see if he develops an interest. If he shows any signs of aspirating (coughing, gurgling sound in throat, watery eyes) I would stop.

I'll bet your EI person will have some great ideas. Therapists are awesome.

I would try laying out some small finger foods or snacks in front of him and start eating them yourself (saying mmm, yumm, delicious, etc ...). Let him watch you eat and in time he'll be interested. It might not work right away, but curiosity will win eventually

Thin liquids are usually the hardest to swallow so fingers crossed it shouldn't be a physical problem

@hotchildinthecity: Perhaps you can find an Asian market and find some Korean snacks. Maybe something that looks familiar to him will work (even if it's just a quick taste - it's a start).

My son also has oral motor issues, his main problem with eating was that he couldn't chew properly. Instead of his jaw moving in a circular motion, he moved it up and down only, which wasn't effective at mashing foods and then he had bad swallowing experiences, which made him resistant to certain foods.

I'd honestly wait until the eval. You don't know what you're working with yet and you might inadvertanly create more issues. It's not a knock against your parenting, please don't take it that way, but an oral motor and sensory eval will give you both answers and a game plan.

Thinking of you, let me know if you want to chat more about it off line.

eta: oh, and try to get him to use a straw cup, rather than a sippy cup.

I agree with others to wait for your eval.

But for now, I would focus on creating positive, safe eating situations. Just have him sit at the table with you guys so he can see you eat from a fork and chew food (do it with funny exaggerated faces, open your mouth so he can see the food etc).

I also would think about just letting him play with the food with his fingers. Don't worry about it getting to his mouth, the first step may be him just needing to learn how to explore food in general.