![]() Selective eating can have significant developmental and health consequences. Selective eating is defined as eating very small amounts of food and/or restricting foods eaten to an extremely narrow selection of sometimes only one or two items. Children with extreme food selectivity issues are frequently dealing with many environmental factors related to sensory modulation and regulation. Throughout the limited feeding and eating disorders literature, environmental factors primarily focus on sensory processing variables. Pica: In the study, pica was only seen in children with autism.Įnvironmental Problems That Affect Feeding And Eating Rigid brand preferences: Some children would only accept one specific brand of food, such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or McDonald’s French fries. Hypersensitivity to food textures: Kids with autism tended to be more sensitive to foods with smooth and creamy textures, foods that need a lot of chewing, and food that have lumps. Some of the unusual eating behaviors researchers saw in kids with autism included: RELATED: The Link Between Extreme Picky Eating and Anxiety.According to the researchers, atypical eating can been seen as early as the first year of life, and kids with autism can have more limited diets by as young as 15 months. In the study of more than 2,000 children, about 70 percent of kids with autism had atypical eating behaviors, compared with just 13 percent of kids with other disorders and only about 5 percent of typical kids. Researchers from Penn State University found that unusual eating behaviors were five times more common in kids with autism than in those with other disorders like ADHD and learning disabilitiesand 15 times more common than in “typical” kids. ![]() Now, new research suggests that unusual eating behaviors may be an early red flag in childreneven as young as one or two years old. Recommended Reading: Real Doctor With Autism Unusual Eating Behaviors May Be Early Sign Of Autismĭiagnosing autism as early as possible is important, so kids and families can start getting the help, treatment, and support they need. As a parent, one of your primary roles is to provide for your child, and not being able to fulfill that role can be stressful, isolating, and extremely frustrating. Not only does picky eating affect a childs health and well-being, it also negatively impacts the social well-being of the child and the family as a whole. With gradual introduction with no negative effects may allow the child to eventually try the new food. Next, the family may try the new food and show their enjoyment. The next few dinners, it may be placed on their plate but with no expectation made of the child to eat it. It may just sit on a plate near theirs for several nights. First, try a food that has the best chance of suiting your child’s preferences. Its gradual introduction can help the child to become desensitized to the smell, look and texture of an unfamiliar food. For example, a new vegetable can be turned into a puree if chunky textures aren’t liked, or traditionally hot food can be served at room temperature.ĭesensitization is a behavioral technique that can work well with introducing new foods. When texture is a known issue, try to introduce new foods in a similar way at first. Often a pattern can emerge with time that helps to determine the issues involved. Be aware of sensory issues such as textures, heat, cold, smell and color. The first step is to clearly document what, when, where and how your child will and won’t eat certain foods. The good news is that there are many positive strategies that can often help with extreme food selectivity. Withholding food until the child is hungry enough to eat is a dubious strategy at best – for child on the autism spectrum, such a strategy could even be dangerous. Strategies To Deal With Extreme Food Selectivity Nutritional therapy can also help to ensure your child is getting a balanced diet. While most children become picky eaters at some point, they grow out of it.Ĭhildren with autism retain this hyper-focus on certain types of food unless they receive behavior therapy. Problems with eating in children on the autism spectrum are significantly different from the colloquial picky eating. For parents, it may seem like your child is being obstinate for no reason, and that can be very frustrating, especially as you try to move them from baby food to regular food, encourage them to eat fruits and vegetables, and experience new food that may not be like the food they enjoy the most. Many children become picky eaters as they enter toddlerhood, refusing certain foods because of taste, smell, texture, and other reasons. Picky Eating with an Autistic Child | Autism parenting Q& A
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