How to help a child with ASD to eat variety of foods
                     HOW TO HELP A CHILD WITH ASD TO EAT VARIETY OF FOODS
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If your child with ASD is a fussy eater, it is quite likely you have tried everything to get 
them to eat. This post provides a better understanding as to what may be impacting 
your child’s refusal to eat a wide variety of food, as well some practical tips to encourage 
your child to expand their food choices.
Your child  with ASD is unlike any other child with ASD. However, when it comes to fussy 
eating behaviours and fussy eating causes there are quite a few common traits.
A narrow range of food
A child with ASD is more likely to be a fussy eater than their neuro typical peers. It is 
estimated that 72% of children with ASD eat a narrow range of foods[1].  These children 
may present with difficulties from the time solids are introduced, for example, they may 
show strong preferences for certain foods, as well as a ‘stubborn’ refusal to sample 
others. For example, they may struggle to move on from purees.
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A narrow range of food
As parents seek to introduce new foods, their child with ASD may present challenging 
behaviours at mealtimes[2], for example, they may run away from the table or have a 
complete meltdown before or during a meal. Some children also display concerning 
behaviours, indeed they may overeat or eat non-edible items (PICA).
Parents often find themselves isolated. They worry about growth, nutritional, and safety 
outcomes for their children. The dinner table becomes a constant battlefield. Anxiety 
levels are heightened for all involved.
The problem is that those difficulties are likely to persist in adulthood: among adults 
with intellectual disabilities, those with autism have more severe feeding and mealtime 
challenges such as food selectivity and refusal than those without autism[4].
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Potential nutritional deficiencies
Children are at risk of nutritional deficiencies when they drop entire food groups. 
Studies find that children with ASD are more likely to lack:
 Iron
 Folate
 B12
 Zinc
 Lithium
 Calcium
 Magnesium
 DHA
 Specific amino-acids [3] .
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Organic causes behind a child with ASD limiting their food choices
There are a variety of causes that will impact an ASD child’s capacity and desire to 
develop a varied food repertoire.
Medical
ASD children may be unwell. They may experience discomfort yet may not be able to 
express it. The signs can be minuscule but behaviour can be a tale-tell. For example, 
parents need to check for constipation and wind, because gastrointestinal discomfort is 
quite common among children with ASD. Moreover, children are more likely to suffer 
from food intolerance and allergies than their peers.[5] If in doubt it is best to get a 
referral to an allergist or a gastroenterologist.
Eating skills
They may lack the skills they need to eat. For example, they may have low muscle tone 
and therefore a lack of oral motor skills to eat challenging foods and textures. When 
there is delayed speech, it is worth checking with a Speech-Language Pathologist and 
get them to perform an oral-motor examination of your child. 
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Anxiety, medication, and nutrition
Adults with ASD often say that anxiety is worse than ASD itself. Anxiety, stress and 
medication can all impact appetite. Nutrition once impacted, may, in turn, affect 
appetite.
Environmental challenges
Children’s eating environment may impact their ability to relax, they react to noise and 
lights. They may be fidgety and struggle to sit on seating that does not provide good 
ergonomics.
Sensory sensitivities and rigidity
It is likely that children with ASD struggle with a range of sensory sensitivities. Eating 
food is a multi-sensory experience: food has smells, textures, colours, and tastes as well 
as different temperatures.
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For example, parents often mention their child’s rigidity: they may bulk at food touching 
each other. They may recognise the aspect, the smell or the taste of a branded product 
and refuse an equivalent. As a result, they may request the same food day after day. 
They may refuse mushy textures, favour crunchy sens
ations and develop strong food aversions. Parents may also observe that their child 
covers a food with sauce, or salt to neutralise or tone down a particular flavour, or their 
child may run away from a smell in the kitchen as a result of sensory challenges.
Children may avoid using their back molars to reduce the sensation of the food in their 
mouth creates.
Since children are diagnosed with ASD on average at the age of 4, parents have often 
already adapted the best they can to their child’s food refusals or rigidity. It is worth 
revisiting this relationship and exploring options to improve the range of accepted 
foods.
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Reasons to be optimistic for your child with ASD
It is an interesting observation that family food cultures have a significant impact on 
children’s capacity to eat certain foods. For instance, a child with ASD in an Indian family 
may eat dahl and rice, when an Aussie family may have a child who is stuck with pasta 
and chips.
Selective eating in children with ASD’s selective eating is a manifestation of their 
restricted interests and activities[6], so parents may have a special role to play in 
opening up those possibilities.
Here are my top ten tips to help a child with ASD to eat a variety of foods
1. Always check for underlying causes that may trigger pain or difficulties. Misbehaviour 
is often rooted in physical pain so it is important to eliminate any Gastro-Intestinal (GI) 
issues, chewing and swallowing difficulties.
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2. Trust your child’s appetite: there is no evidence that ASD children can’t feel hunger or 
satiety. More research is needed though since some children appear to overeat. Making 
sure that meals are offered when your child is hungry is important, as well as making 
sure that medication is adapted and given at optimal times.
3. Reduce anxiety by offering certainty, use cards or charts to spell out the routine. What 
is the routine before the meal, during the meal, after the meal? What is on the menu?  I 
have observed the capacity that children have to increase their accepted range when a 
routine is present and stress is reduced.
4. Use a French style of family meals by serving the food on platters in the middle of the 
table. Your child can choose what they want to eat from your nutritious, wholesome 
offerings.
5. Present new foods on the table, move them closer to your child as time goes by to 
increase familiarity.
6. Integrate a new food to a liked food, slowly change the texture, the taste, or the 
colour, depending on what the refusal is about.
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7. Avoid ruling foods out, keep offering what forms the basis of your family food culture.
8. Improve familiarity with food by having non-eating activities that involve preparing 
and cooking food.
9. Identify your stress levels associated with feeding your ASD child on a scale of 1 to 10. 
If your stress level is too high, who can help you? Who is in your support system?
10. If your child avoids entire food groups or has meltdowns at mealtimes professional 
support may be warranted.
Remember we normally eat 3-5 times a day, so this activity can become normal and 
pleasant for all ASD children and their families.
Fussy Eater Solutions offers a range of in-home and online services to families who self-
manage their NDIS to improve the lives of their ASD fussy eater child. Call Marie-France, 
the Fussy Eater Specialist, for more information or book a free 15-minute assessment 
here.
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Contact us
6 Riddell Parade, Elsternwick 3185, Victoria, 
Australia
0421 843 038
[email protected]
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www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038