How to help a child with ASD to eat variety of foods (1)

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How to help a child with ASD to eat variety of
foods
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If your child with ASD is a fussy eater, it is
quite likely you have tried everything to get
them to eat. This post provides a better
understanding as to what may be impacting your
childs refusal to eat a wide variety of food, as
well some practical tips to encourage your child
to expand their food choices.
Your child with ASD is unlike any other child
with ASD. However, when it comes to fussy eating
behaviours and fussy eating causes there are
quite a few common traits.
A narrow range of food
A child with ASD is more likely to be a fussy
eater than their neuro typical peers. It is
estimated that 72 of children with ASD eat a
narrow range of foods1. These children may
present with difficulties from the time solids
are introduced, for example, they may show strong
preferences for certain foods, as well as a
stubborn refusal to sample others. For example,
they may struggle to move on from purees.
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A narrow range of food
As parents seek to introduce new foods, their
child with ASD may present challenging behaviours
at mealtimes2, for example, they may run away
from the table or have a complete meltdown before
or during a meal. Some children also display
concerning behaviours, indeed they may overeat or
eat non-edible items (PICA).
Parents often find themselves isolated. They
worry about growth, nutritional, and safety
outcomes for their children. The dinner table
becomes a constant battlefield. Anxiety levels
are heightened for all involved.
The problem is that those difficulties are likely
to persist in adulthood among adults with
intellectual disabilities, those with autism have
more severe feeding and mealtime challenges such
as food selectivity and refusal than those
without autism4.
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Potential nutritional deficiencies
Children are at risk of nutritional deficiencies
when they drop entire food groups. Studies find
that children with ASD are more likely to lack

• Iron
• Folate
• B12
• Zinc
• Lithium
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• DHA
• Specific amino-acids 3 .

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Organic causes behind a child with ASD limiting
their food choices
There are a variety of causes that will impact an
ASD childs capacity and desire to develop a
varied food repertoire.
Medical
ASD children may be unwell. They may experience
discomfort yet may not be able to express it. The
signs can be minuscule but behaviour can be a
tale-tell. For example, parents need to check for
constipation and wind, because gastrointestinal
discomfort is quite common among children with
ASD. Moreover, children are more likely to suffer
from food intolerance and allergies than their
peers.5 If in doubt it is best to get a
referral to an allergist or a gastroenterologist.
Eating skills
They may lack the skills they need to eat. For
example, they may have low muscle tone and
therefore a lack of oral motor skills to eat
challenging foods and textures. When there is
delayed speech, it is worth checking with a
Speech-Language Pathologist and get them to
perform an oral-motor examination of your child.
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Anxiety, medication, and nutrition
Adults with ASD often say that anxiety is worse
than ASD itself. Anxiety, stress and medication
can all impact appetite. Nutrition once impacted,
may, in turn, affect appetite.
Environmental challenges
Childrens eating environment may impact their
ability to relax, they react to noise and lights.
They may be fidgety and struggle to sit on
seating that does not provide good ergonomics.
Sensory sensitivities and rigidity
It is likely that children with ASD struggle with
a range of sensory sensitivities. Eating food is
a multi-sensory experience food has smells,
textures, colours, and tastes as well as
different temperatures.
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For example, parents often mention their childs
rigidity they may bulk at food touching each
other. They may recognise the aspect, the smell
or the taste of a branded product and refuse an
equivalent. As a result, they may request the
same food day after day. They may refuse mushy
textures, favour crunchy sens ations and develop
strong food aversions. Parents may also observe
that their child covers a food with sauce, or
salt to neutralise or tone down a particular
flavour, or their child may run away from a smell
in the kitchen as a result of sensory challenges.
Children may avoid using their back molars to
reduce the sensation of the food in their mouth
creates.
Since children are diagnosed with ASD on average
at the age of 4, parents have often already
adapted the best they can to their childs food
refusals or rigidity. It is worth revisiting this
relationship and exploring options to improve the
range of accepted foods.
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Reasons to be optimistic for your child with ASD
It is an interesting observation that family food
cultures have a significant impact on childrens
capacity to eat certain foods. For instance, a
child with ASD in an Indian family may eat dahl
and rice, when an Aussie family may have a child
who is stuck with pasta and chips.
Selective eating in children with ASDs selective
eating is a manifestation of their restricted
interests and activities6, so parents may have
a special role to play in opening up those
possibilities.
Here are my top ten tips to help a child with ASD
to eat a variety of foods
1. Always check for underlying causes that may
trigger pain or difficulties. Misbehaviour is
often rooted in physical pain so it is important
to eliminate any Gastro-Intestinal (GI) issues,
chewing and swallowing difficulties.
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2. Trust your childs appetite there is no
evidence that ASD children cant feel hunger or
satiety. More research is needed though since
some children appear to overeat. Making sure that
meals are offered when your child is hungry is
important, as well as making sure that medication
is adapted and given at optimal times.
3. Reduce anxiety by offering certainty, use
cards or charts to spell out the routine. What is
the routine before the meal, during the meal,
after the meal? What is on the menu? I have
observed the capacity that children have to
increase their accepted range when a routine is
present and stress is reduced.
4. Use a French style of family meals by serving
the food on platters in the middle of the table.
Your child can choose what they want to eat from
your nutritious, wholesome offerings.
5. Present new foods on the table, move them
closer to your child as time goes by to increase
familiarity.
6. Integrate a new food to a liked food, slowly
change the texture, the taste, or the colour,
depending on what the refusal is about.
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7. Avoid ruling foods out, keep offering what
forms the basis of your family food culture.
8. Improve familiarity with food by having
non-eating activities that involve preparing and
cooking food.
9. Identify your stress levels associated with
feeding your ASD child on a scale of 1 to 10. If
your stress level is too high, who can help you?
Who is in your support system?
10. If your child avoids entire food groups or
has meltdowns at mealtimes professional support
may be warranted.
Remember we normally eat 3-5 times a day, so this
activity can become normal and pleasant for all
ASD children and their families.
Fussy Eater Solutions offers a range of in-home
and online services to families who self-manage
their NDIS to improve the lives of their ASD
fussy eater child. Call Marie-France, the Fussy
Eater Specialist, for more information or book a
free 15-minute assessment here.
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Contact us
6 Riddell Parade, Elsternwick 3185, Victoria,
Australia
0421 843 038
mariefrance_at_fussyeater.com.au
www.fussyeater.com.au
www.fussyeater.com.au
Call 0421 843 038