FOOD!

Eating for children with Autism is usually an extremely difficult task. Often sensory, tactile and oral motor control plays a huge factor in eating preferences and choices for children with ASD. Sensory means: taste, texture, visual, smell/odor, color, shape. Some children with ASD will only eat beige crunchy foods. While other's will only eat wet sweet foods. If they eat a "variety" of different foods, then there is often a ritual that goes with it.

 I had a client that only liked Pizza Hut pizza. The parents actually brought the boxes home and tried to put a different pizza inside and then would pretend to have it delivered! Guess what? He knew and would not touch it! It was still peperoni with cheese, but not what he was used too!

Tactile: this means the feeling of it in their fingers. Many children with Autism have tactile sensitivity that can make touching items a very negative and aversive experience.

Oral Motor: this is muscle tone in the mouth. Many children with Autism have low muscle tone in the mouth which contributes to eating and trouble with speech. The sucking, chewing and working the mouth muscle's and tongue can be very challenging. This becomes too much work for the child, and so they choose not to eat those foods.

Parents with children with Autism have a great deal of difficulty stepping away from the stomach. As parents, we want our children to eat and be healthy, so this often tears at our heart strings. Often times too, behaviours and tantrums can be directly related to nutrition and lack there of. If a non-verbal child is hungry but can't tell you this, that may "act out" as a way of communication.

Introducing new foods can be a huge challenge and cause behaviours to occur as well. Because of this, many parents will continue to feed the child what is "comfortable" and preferred so that they will eat. Without a negative intent from the parents...this can continue to cause and reinforce the child's rigid eating patterns.

Having a child with Autism has many challenges. Offering new foods and exposing children to these at a very young age is often the best approach, for any child. This doesn't work with every child though, and so you may need some assistance with eating-nutrition from a team of specialists including: behaviour therapist, occupational therapist, doctor, nutritionist and family and friends.