Confessions of a Picky Eater - Why your Child with Autism Does Not Eat

When I worked as an ABA therapist I was surrounded by picky eaters. How they were picky would differ. Working in LA County I had the fortune to be invited into homes with a lot of various cultures. While autism was at the core of each house, how it presented depended on what the child was exposed to.

My favorite picky eater was the child who would not eat his fish unless the head was on. His tray was also loaded with rice, seaweed, and dry roman noodles. As long as the fish head was on he would eat.

I worked with a kid that would chow down on fruit, but the parents wanted him to eat hamburger helper.

The pickiest is the kid that would only eat one food at a time. His entire food collection consisted of about five rotating foods. He was the only child that I worked with that I consider picker then L.

Here is my confession. I was the picky eater. I was the kid who would only eat chicken nuggets and French fries. I went an entire year where every meal I ate had chocolate in it. I sat at the table for two days when my dad tried to get me to eat fish. I went months and months eating the exact same food for every meal.

Why is your autistic kid picky? Here is my take on the situation.

Sensory

This one is a given. Most autistic parents are able to realize that some textures just do not work for a kid. I think this is the hardest reason to work around. To this day I cannot eat applesauce, oatmeal, or anything with a similar consistency.

In addition to textures there is also unappetizing visual inputs. If it looks gross then it tastes gross. I have to consciously work around this every time I eat something I think is visually gross. Food can also smell funny. Why would you want to eat something that smells funny?

Food does not give the same input

Food is something you have to eat so you do not feel hungry. Sometimes my body forgets to feel hungry. Sometimes my body is hungry all the time. Even when I eat I do not get satisfaction from eating. I wonder what eating feels like for neurotypical people, specifically people who identify as foodies. When I was a child/adolescent I truly wished that I could just take a tube and get all my necessary nutrients that way. The only reason I do not still wish it, is I do not think it would give the same benefit as real food - unfortunately.

The only time I get a positive response to eating is when the food contains sugar. I am guessing that eating sugar gives off a dopamine response, my brain cheers, and we live happily ever after. Except that this creates a viscous cycle of eating junk - all the time. I think this is why candy is so often used as a reinforce in ABA therapy. It actually reacts with a child with autism's brain. Except, now at 33 years old I am a sugar addict. I have to retrain myself to eat food that I do not really get any pleasure from, and stay away from the stuff that I do.

Are you sure that is food?

I think because food does not give a biological reaction it is easy to dismiss food as actually being edible. That is why I can be starving and have a piece of fruit or vegetables in front of me and not realize that it is actually food. It is not instinctual. You have to teach yourself that it is food. Every time I go to eat my lunch I have to remind myself that what I have on my plate is food, it will take away the hunger and does not taste bad. Otherwise I reach for a bag of chocolate chips, or even potato chips.

I am an adult. Can you imagine how much harder this is for a kid? It is a slow and tedious process, all the while you have to make sure that they are not starving themselves in the process. The old adage is that kids will eat if they are hungry. The truth is that sometimes kids with autism will not. If you do not see an object as food, why would you eat it?