BRUNSWICK

A benefit spaghetti dinner will be held this Saturday to help raise money for a young boy from Topsham who is undergoing an intensive feeding therapy program right now in Baltimore.

The dinner is being held Saturday at United Lodge No. 8 at 65 Baribeau Drive in Brunswick from 4-6 p.m. The dinner menu will include spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, multiple dessert choices and beverages.

There will also be a silent auction featuring several watercolor paintings by a local artist; handcrafted jewelry and gift bags; gift cards to include local businesses such as Big Top Deli, It’s All Good Resale Shop, The Rumpus Room; gift cards for massage therapy and pedicures, and more items.

This event is to support Ben’s Feeding Therapy Fund. Ben Hertz, 7, of Topsham is currently undergoing treatment at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. The treatment is a six-to-eight-week intensive feeding therapy designed to help children of various ages overcome their fears and refusals of food for countless reasons. This event will hopefully raise enough to help Ben’s family and friends reach their fundraising goal.

Ben, who has Developmental Coordination Disorder, also known as Dyspraxia, has suffered since birth with the condition, which causes low muscle tone and disorders affecting his sensory processing, speech, gross motor coordination, along with many other issues.

In an interview in November, Ben’s parents, Cathy and Colin Hertz, told their story in an effort to raise awareness about Dyspraxia and also to raise funds for the challenge their son faces in an effort to help him overcome his fears.

The couple tried to introduce solids to Ben at the appropriate time and had to delay because Ben would choke and gag due to his Dyspraxia. His tongue wasn’t moving, so he couldn’t swallow traditional baby foods.

They kept trying as time went on and persevered, “but we never got to the stage of introducing third foods because by the time we got there he still couldn’t use his tongue,” Cathy said.

“In Ben’s head, there’s his food and there’s our food,” she said. “He doesn’t want our food. He’s scared of it. He doesn’t want to try it. Even at a party recently where they had cake and ice cream.”

The Hertz family spent years seeking help for Ben to overcome his fear of foods before another parent’s story lead them to the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.

Learn more about Ben’s condition and progress at the GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/helpbeneat).