Autism & nutrition

​It’s common for children to have “tender tummies” (examples include reflux, food intolerances, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, etc). However many cannot express this discomfort nor do they understand where it’s coming from. The pain becomes a distraction – who can concentrate on learning when they have stabbing pain?  It’s important to sort out any physical discomfort before pushing food. Otherwise the behavior of eating is nothing but an unpleasant experience and a battle to be avoided . 

​Sorting through the senses around food is one of the primary obstacles for all children – autistic or not.

Some children have heightened senses in one area and dulled in another. This can make them sensory seeking or sensory avoiding, or both. 

For example, some children have heighten auditory senses – they hear EVERYTHING and find it challenging to filter out certain noises. Imagine sitting at a table trying to hear but you hear the fan whirring overhead, the fridge next to you, the tv in the background, the traffic outside, the chewing of the person next to you, and the chewing of yourself. It’s overload and would make anyone want to escape. 

Senses impact a child’s interaction with and preference for food. If they are sensory seeking with their mouth, they may prefer foods that give them strong feedback (more crunch, cold temperatures, intense flavors). Whereas if they are sensory avoiding with their mouth, they may prefer smooth, creamy, and consistent textures. The same principles apply for sense of touch, smell, and sight. To make things more complicated, some children are sensory seeking with their mouth but NOT their nose.

It’s about learning what each child prefers, working with it, and expanding the options. ​

​Sometimes children with autism have delays in motor abilities and lower muscle tone overall.  Less muscle = more challenge coordinating movements. Eating is actually a pretty complicated task we take for granted –

1. You have to pick up the food (eg, be able to grasp it or coordinate it with a utensil)
2. Chew (eg, your jaw has to move in the right direction – sometimes up and down and other times tearing)
3. Control / swallow (eg, your tongue has to keep the food controlled and in the right place, and the tongue controls how quickly / how much food goes down the esophagus)

The texture and consistency of food makes any of these steps easier or harder than another. For example, drinking water takes a lot of control whereas a thicker liquid is easier. 

Choking / gagging during this process is terrifying. If you’ve ever choked, how eager are you to try to eat that food again?? How excited would you be to “try it again” if you didn’t understand what happened in the first place? Moving a child through food exposures and challenges too quickly makes the child feel unsafe.