What it means
Taste is triggered by the chemical content of substances in the environment. The chemical particles are picked up by receptor sites on the tongue. There are four tastes perceived: sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
Children have more taste buds than adults so they usually have a more highly developed sense of taste. A child may have difficulties perceiving taste of be oversensitive to strong tastes, which can lead to issues at mealtimes.
Touch and pressure receptors in the mouth perceive information about texture and sensation of food. Taste also works very closely with smell. It is rare to taste something without smell, as our smell sensation elaborates on the information received about food.
Hypersensitive
| Potential signs | Potential impact | Strategies to assist with learning |
|---|---|---|
| Fussy, picky eaters | Reduced variety of foods eaten | Involve children in food activities but remove pressure to try/taste products |
| A dislike of strong oral stimulation such as brushing teeth | Weight loss | Agree with the child which new foods they will try each week. Start with asking them to smell the foods and then move on at their pace to lick, taste and eat the food |
| Dislike strong taste | Avoidance of activities, such as going to the dentist or participating in group work where food and taste are involved | Remove pressures in lunch hall to eat what’s put in front of them |
| Dislike certain food texture, such as soft or hard foods | As with the vestibular sense, significant difficulties in this area require graded and specialised programmes by trained professionals |
Hyposensitive
| Potential signs | Potential impact | Strategies to assist with learning |
|---|---|---|
| Mouthing and licking of non-food items such as pencils and sleeves (this can also be indicative of proprioceptive seeking or poor tactile discrimination) | Dangers involved from chewing non-food items | Chewy tubes, bangles and pencil toppers |
| Chewing everything (this can also be indicative of proprioceptive seeking or poor tactile discrimination) | Crunchy snacks | |
| Food cramming | ||
| Preference for strong tastes such as chilli and lemons |
