Amy,

Just a thought...we have a 10 year old now...who at your daughter's age sounds very similar.  The great news is now...he eats anything and everything...hamburgers to french fries...to pizza...yes the good American diet.

A couple of ideas that worked for us...one was to give him one of those plastic (rubber) soft therapy toys to mouth...it was a spider with legs and little spiny things on the legs....I think this helped to desensitize is gag reflex....he would play with it and repeatedly slightly gag himself...he loved the toy...and eventually didn't play with it anymore....I think it played a great role in desensitizing him...painlessly...ie. he did it himself...as much or as little as he wanted.

Second...I made all of his and his twin's baby food...I know that sounds like a lot ...but it was really easy...actually easier than going to the store and hauling all of the baby food jars.  By making the baby food I could slowly control the texture...it was not an all or nothing task....and eventually...by age 3 he was eating everything.  If you are interested I would be willing to share....I will reiterate it was simple...(it had to be ...we had very sick twins...and a rambunctions 2 year old all at the same time).

It was so worth it...because his oral skills are now great...and nobody would have ever predicted it....but it took lots of a patience.

Cheryl Kloss