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Courtesy of ASD: The Complete Autism Spectrum Disorder Health & Diet Guideby R Garth Smith, Susan Hannah, Elke Sengmueller 2014 © Reprinted with publisher permission.

Currently, approximately one out of every 88 children— or more— is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Mealtimes for families with an autistic child are sometimes described as “mealtime madness.” Picky eating, combined with difficult behaviors around eating, can make mealtimes stressful and restaurant meals impossible.

Food Preferences

“I won’t eat that!”

Children with autism are famous for their food preferences. At one extreme, some children have as few as 20 food items in their diet, preferring to eat the same foods several times daily (leading to poor nutrition). Just as some children are averse to specific foods, others have specific food preferences, and many of these preferences may be linked to sensory issues related to brain function. Networks in the brain may be under- oroversensitive.

Preferred food groups typically (but not always) include starchy vegetables, refined carbohydrates, processed meat products, and dairy products. Children with autism have food preferences like any other child for crackers, chicken fingers, or french fries— and each child prefers something different. Some children with autism will refuse all foods besides their preferred foods, ignore their hunger, and go without food altogether rather than eat something else when their preferred food is not available.

The most common food preferences for children with autism include:

•Crunchy or dry texture

•Smooth consistency

•Specific appearance and presentation

•Specific brands and packaging

•Same foods (sameness in everything)

•Specific odor

Most children with autism:

•Refuse to eat eggs

•Refuse most meat alternatives, such as tofu

•Refuse most beans and lentils

•Refuse most dairy products

Some children with autism:

•Refuse to eat unprocessed meat or fish, and a few refuse processed meat

•Refuse to drink less fluid than is optimal for health

Behavioral therapy to widen the variety in their diet teaches children and their parents how to interact to improve mealtime behavior and food choices.

Martine Quibell, Publicity Manager, Robert Rose Inc.

120 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M4P 1E2

416-322-6552 x 3133 /