Published on 12, July, 2020
My relationship with food has always been terrible, even before I was diagnosed with autism.
I would eat very large plates of food as a child, and would pick off of other people's plates once they had finished. I loved sweets, so much so that when my mother started to hide the sweets, i would dig through the cupboards until i found them. I ate and drank things so fast that i would have frequent nausea. I never stopped mouthing, so any pen, pencil, lid or bottle cap would either be chewed to an unrecognisable clump of plastic or swallowed.
Even with the diagnosis, i haven't seemed to control myself. I know now that i mostly overeat because of a lack of mental stimulation and because of sensory input, but I can't change my diet no matter how hard I try.
However, i do worry that at the rate i am going, i could end up with diabetes.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hello NAS70768,
I'm sorry to hear about some of the struggles you've had with food. You may like to look at the NAS advice around diet/eating:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/eating/all-audiences
I hope this is useful,
ChloeMod