Issues With Food

I continue to have problems with my daughter who is 14,  but if I'm honest, I could do better in trying to encourage her to eat more healthily/ try a wider range of food.  It has helped to understand her objection to some foods - she doesn't just dislike them, she is disgusted and revolted by them.  It would be like tolerating maggots on your plate.  For me, it would be like someone trying to get me to eat a spoonful of semolina.  That just AIN'T gonna happen EVER!  She used to eat apple if I carefully sliced it avoiding the plasticy bits in the middle.  So I'm going to try getting her to eat apple again.  I can't remember the exact fact but your tastebuds renew every 2 or 3 weeks I think, so it can take this long to accept a new taste.  So the idea is that if you even just lick a new food every day, you will get used to it.  The thing that has stopped me doing this in the past is my laziness and lack of energy and lack of self-discipline.  If the revulsion is texture-based then I don't know how to get past that.  I guess my advice would be to get him to tolerate the food he used to like gradually again without any pressure to make him eat it.  To squish raspberries and mix them in a yogurt for you to enjoy.  He might get to like the smell, he might accidentally get some on his hand an lick it off?  As you can tell, I'm NO EXPERT! I'm literally trying to figure out what to do myself. Just replying to you has made me feel more motivated to try and get my daughter to eat apple again this summer.  Good luck x

My son is 11 and also has a pretty restrictive diet although he ate all sorts as a toddler. We discovered it’s a texture thing. He doesn’t like soft or wet food. Like pasta, beans etc. He likes dry, crisp foods like pizza, chicken etc. But even that can be difficult if it’s the wrong type of pizza! I try to get in what Goodness i can and try to accept that as long as he is eating something he will be ok. He will have a smoothie every day (the innocent ones) he will eat an apple but that’s the only fruit or veg I can get him to take in. It’s not uncommon, just try not to put it on yourself. Lots of neurotypical kids are fussy too, add to that sensory needs or habitual preferences and it’s not surprising our kids have a tendency to restrict their diets x

Food can be a major issue for many autistics. I have a very restricted diet but as a vegetarian exist off vegetables, beans and lentils so am still able to eat a balanced diet. My brother has always existed off chicken sandwiches. I've also worked with an autistic who can't join in during catered lunches as the smell of even buffet food repulses him. 

I have a lot of sensory needs around food e.g won't eat wet bread so anything like sauces, butter, mushroom toppings etc are a no go. I also can't eat if I'm anywhere near the smell of meat cooking - this has impacted on the people I'm able to enter a relationship with as I'm only able to cope with a OH whose able to eat the same as me - if they wanted to cook meat based meals at home I'd be unable to eat for a lot of the day and this makes many rooms near where the cooking happened no go zones for a long time whilst the smell lingers.

I agree that you shouldn't put any pressure on your son but also that you should accept he might always be like this with food. I recently purchased some lentil and cauliflower kebabs from Sainsbury's but the pressure of trying something unfamiliar, although I'd like to, meant they ended up in the bin, I'm 35. Peer pressure has never been an issue for me and I've often met people after the group have had a meal so that I can stick to the usual time that I eat, plus I don't have to cope with the anxiety of asking for a special meal to be made for me as the menu's often unsuitable.

I'd let your son eat what he wants but leave him small portions of the food you're having, or picky food such as fruit, as an optional extra for him to try if he'd like to. This enables him to be in control of the situation, which is likely to make him more open than if you force him. I've heard a lot of autistic children live off a beige food diet and this certainly was the case for me.

Thanks for the reply. Some really good ideas, thanks again

Food is a huge anxiety tool.    Kids use it to manipulate their parents.    If you end up making food into a battle, you will lose.

The easiest way to deal with food issues is to take the pressure off.    Try to make it fun with no stress - give him what he wants with extra stuff - like toast cut up like Tetris - make a puzzle out of it.    Fries can be stacked like Jenga,    Try making naughty words from alphabetti.      Make sure you tell him to just eat the good bits and leave the rest - that means there's no pressure to clear the plate.   You're wasting your time trying to get him to eat 'healthy' stuff that doesn't taste good.   Once food is fun, you can then do permutations and combinations because he 'likes' all the parts.   

Fruit can be a bit sharp on its own - try tinned fruit in syrup or make a jelly with fruit in it.   It's all about getting it in under the radar and then introducing variations.    Try different types of cheeses,    crackers & cheese is practically a pizza - try making mini pizzas like that - and then add extra toppings on a couple - maybe a little ham - then microwave to make the cheese stringy.    Pizzas & burgers are a great way to add extras like bacon, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, different breads - and then you're into paninis, rolls, toasties etc.

Make each step very small & logical and he's more likely to taste it.   Involve him with your cooking and let all the smells tempt him.   Go through all your ingredients and let him sniff and taste things - take him to the supermarket and show him all the foods - like on the deli-counter.    Avoid strong smells & flavours unless he gravitates that way.

You might need to be careful when putting things on a plate - foods touching other things like baked beans 'contaminates' the food and gives an excuse.

A bowl of 'dipping gravy' is another way to try to introduce tasteless food like veg.

Remember - fun will work, pressure won't.

In a couple of years, he'll be measuring himself against his peers and he'll suddenly want to fit in - so they suddenly start to want to try new things.

Good luck!