Are you finding it difficult to get your child to eat? This is a common experience for all parents. However, it can be especially difficult to convince a child who has been diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum to eat food that he or she is not the slightest bit interested in eating. What is a parent to do when this happens?
Children with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome often have difficulties when faced with new experiences. This includes introduction to unfamiliar foods. My brother, (who has Asperger’s Syndrome), was very resistant to trying new foods. In part, this was because he was extremely sensitive to certain kinds of textures, and would avoid them. For example, he enjoyed eating fish sticks, but would not eat broiled or baked fish of any kind, including ones that were breaded. Many of us would not notice much difference between a breaded fish fillet, and a breaded fish stick, but my brother certainly saw them as completely different things. The texture of baked or grilled fish bothered him so much that he avoided touching it with his fingers, and would not consider putting it into his mouth. He doesn’t like tomatoes, either, because they are squishy. He also has several food allergies to contend with. As a result, there are only a few foods that my brother will eat, and those foods must be prepared the exact same way, every time.
If your child is as picky an eater as my brother is, don’t worry. A study by the AAP compared 79 children who had Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and compared them to 12,900 children who did not have ASD. Their conclusion was that, despite the tendency towards picky eating, the children in the study who had ASD had normal growth patterns (when compared with their peers). This may give some peace of mind to parents whose children insist on eating just a few, select, foods.
Some people feel that providing a gluten free diet is beneficial for children who have Asperger’s Syndrome. The Milford Daily News has an article about one mom, who decided to do exactly that. Her daughter has been diagnosed with Apserger’s Syndrome, and mom Sarah Del Soldato did not feel comfortable with the idea of giving her eight-year-old daughter the medications her doctor suggested. Ms. Del Soladto was advised by a nutritionist that gluten can be difficult for children who have autism to digest. This lead her to teach herself how to create gluten free foods that her daughter could eat. This includes breads, cookies, cupcakes, and even chocolate chip brownies. Cooking turned out to be an excellent way to connect with her daughter, who says she feels better when she eats gluten free foods.
Image by Sean Benham on Flickr