In yesterday's news, researchers found that children who are picky eaters at an early age may be diagnosable with autism. Of course, plenty of kids with and without autism are picky eaters, which explains the need for "children's menus" at almost every restaurant in the United States. But kids with autism may find it especially tough to manage new tastes and sensations.
Is your child with autism a picky eater? Share your story, hints and tips!
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My son has always been a picky eater. As a baby, he didn’t drink as much milk as other babies his age. Once he started on solids, he was very picky and only accepted Gerber jars (not my pureed foods or other brands), the only exception being food made by one of my friends. The pickiness only got worse after he turned 2. We’ve tried some ABA strategies (major rewards if he tried new foods) with very limited success. It is a matter of control, rigidity, obsession, visual and taste, sensory issues. I believe it will be easier to overcome on an older child with more language and better cognitive ability, when you’re able to reason with them.
My neice is severely autistic, and I vividly remember some of the battles my sister had at the dinner table. This was pre diagnosis but I often wondered how on earth she coped with it on a daily basis when we didn’t know the cause (I know kids can get stroppy having to eat their vegies, but WOW). We have strategies to deal with it better now, but it’s interesting to read this might be an early indication of autism.
My son with Asperger’s is an extremely picky eater and has been since he was two. My daughter, who is not diagnosed but we think may be on the spectrum, will eat anything–as long as it’s cold! She lets hot food sit on the table forever until it gets cold.
My daughter has been picky for as long at I can remember. She was diagnosed with ASD in May. Even while in the hospital when I was breast-feeding her. She only ate every 6 hours or so. The nurses were going crazy telling me she needed to eat more. She never would eat baby food, it would make her gag. Now at 3 she only eats a diet of mainly rice, macaroni, bread and some fruits. We have found a wonderful speech pathologist who has been working with her and getting her to try new foods. His goal is to get her to eat a ham sandwich, we have got her to eat cheese and last week she took the tiniest bite of cheese and bread together (mixing foods and textures is a huge accomplishment!). It is a work in progress but it is slowly coming. We struggle every day with her diet but we will keep trying.
Tessa in my opinion with having two boys on the spectrum I believe that with autism there are from one extreme to another extreme symptoms or characteristics. Like you mentioning your daughter will eat anything, while some people with autism like my son will not anything; and prefers his complete nutritional supplement to be room temperature. An example of extremes is, I think, touching and affection. You hear that autistic people don’t like to be touched and are not affectionate, however my son is overly affectionate and likes to touch and be touched.
My second son with autism would not transition from baby food to solids, and would only drink milk from a bottle. He did feed himself applesauce with a spoon for about a year or so until he started to refuse it. To this day (he’s 5), he will only drink room temperature Pediasure through a bottle, his sole nutrition. He will lick the seasoning off of Doritos and some other chips – the spicier the better.
My other son, also diagnosed with autism is a particular eater, but at least he eats and is negotiable. But I am very considerate of his dislikes, I would never insist he eat something he does not want to eat; it’s not worth making him gag, get sick, or stress over.
Responding to others’ comments, my son is 14 and the pickiness about eating is now getting worse. He did eat more and more different things over time, and he does enjoy a lot of different fruits, and will eat raw baby carrots, but now if it isn’t something he likes, he will go hungry. This is huge concern for my husband and me. Our son is already thing, always has been, but at 14 he should be eating us out of house and home. He isn’t. We cannot afford Subway or McDonald’s very often, but I am almost desperate to try and afford it so he will eat more. Any suggestions?
Sorry, I meant to say thin.