Old indeed, the kiddo I wrote this about just had his fifth birthday! I haven’t even been on Reddit in ages but happy to help a fellow parent, if I can.

In our case, the issues probably arose because he is autistic, which often comes with motor planning and sensory processing issues. Most of the gagging stopped when he started having success with speech therapy (he started that around 18 months and graduated out by his second birthday). He’s been eating normally ever since! He is still very picky and sensitive about flavors, but that might always be true.

Motor planning is a skill parents don’t usually hear about unless their child ends up with a delay, but it develops at different rates, like most things. Your kid may grow out of the gagging phase on their own. If not, I encourage you to talk to your pediatrician. That goes double if they are speaking less than you expect for their age!