OT
It depends on the OT.
Take me; I'm adhd-c (and while our sensory issues all differ, we most of us, have them). So here are some examples from my own life:
1) I'm a super taster ((which means I can not only tell you what sweetener is in bread, but if it's honey what KIND of honey -including blends-. Wine.... if I'm familiar with the vinter I can tell you which SLOPE, as well as the year, pressing, etc. ALL water tastes different. I can taste the pipes (different kinds of metals, plastics), what kind of filtering process is used, and what additives are in it. After decades I've finally come to a place where I honestly BELIEVE people when they say they can't tell these things. But to ME it's as obvious as whether it's tomato soup or strawberry syrup. RADICALLY different tastes, and even water texture is different).
2) As a kid I hated the following things:
- water
- oregano
- sage
Well... my mum used a seasoning that has trace amounts of sage in it for chicken, and oregano in it for beef. Which meant that I wouldn't eat anything with chicken or beef that SHE made. I couldn't tell you why I HATED them. But I did. AND ANYTHING COOKED IN OR WITH WATER (veggies, soups, etc.), anything with water added (juice, although grape juice covered up the noxious water taste fairly well, you could still taste it. Sort of like a smoker who sprays on perfume. You smell both the smoke and perfume.
It hurt my mums feelings TONS that I "didn't like" her cooking. Esp since I'd "eat anything" when we were travelling (intestine on a stick? Yum. Octopus balls? No problem.) I'd eat at friends, at school, at restaurants... but the TRICK was that I was ORDERING (after smelling), or just being polite (diplomatic dinners teach you to be a good improv actor... so my friend's parents either cooked GREAT food, or I pretended they did). My mum knew me well enough to know when I was faking, and knew me well enough to know that silence was just me not throwing a fit. And quite frankly, not eating meant getting slapped across the face, so we had to eat. I choked it down. But it STILL hurt her feelings that I'd barely pick at my food at home so many nights.
As soon as I started cooking (age 11) I started eating TONS at home. Why? Because I'd sniff things before adding them, and I read tons of recipes (like to learn how to properly cook fish). Her go-to spice mix just never touched food I cooked EVER. Honestly, me learning to cook created a LOT of problems, because she just couldn't believe me about not liking x, y, z... that that was "ridiculous" and "you can't even taste it". Well, if YOU can't taste it, don't add it!!! Because I can, and I HATE it. ((I'm sure you can guess how well that went over))
Another issue is texture. Dry meat? Nope. Only in case of emergency. Meat should be liquid and buttery, or bouncy and vibrant, or etc. This cheese, but not that cheese. BOXED & canned stuff ALL the time (because it was consistent, no surprises... if I liked it once, I'd like it the 220th time - until I randomly decided I'd never liked it to begin with ;)
So all of that is SOME of my quirky food stuff. Which no one would guess these days (because I don't cook food I don't like). My "go to" meals that I cook at home is a list of about 80 dishes that span 5 continents. If you didn't know me (or suffer my meltdowns when unsalted butter gets bought, instead of salted butter... or x grind instead of y grind... or this toilet paper instead of that toilet paper, whoops skipped over into a touch aspect, but you get my drift) you'd never guess how "picky" I am about my food. Or that I STILL can't stand anything with dried sage in it (love fresh sage, though).
A good OT can figure out this sort of thing YEARS before your child or you can figure them out. Why yellow cake by Betty Crocker is okay, but not Duncan Heins... or why cake in entirety is OUT (feels like having foam in your mouth), or, or, or, or.
For ONE thing... it can reeeeeeally stop 'hurt feelings'. It's not YOU we're rebelling against, NOR "your" cooking. But flavors or textures that are as awful as catsup on chocolate icecream, or bugs for lunch.
A GOOD OT can also figure things out like needing to feel "weight" at night OR no weight... tricks on how to self soothe (HUGE difference between disorders, btw... for example... jouncing your leg like you have a baby on you knee is reeeeeally relaxing/soothing for most adhd types.... but the same motion can overamp an autistic or bipolar kid and cause them to freak out; aka you don't teach an ADHD person to be still... you teach them how to move WITHOUT BEING ANNOYING.
But yeah... tons of stuff. If you have a good one.