Helping your picky autistic child eat balanced diet is possible with the right strategies. These tips can be helpful in achieving progress.
Mealtimes can be extremely difficult for children with autism because they face over sensitivity to food’s textures, flavors, aromas, and colors. They may also hesitate to try new foods or insist on not to change old things again and again because of their strong connection for routine. This sensory and behavioral selectness is due to how their brain respond to sensory information rather than just being “picky.”
The Significance of Diet for Autism
As a parent, it’s very essential to take care of your child’s eating habits with sympathy, tolerance and understanding. Do not force them to eat what you have given them on the plate, parents should slightly introduce changes, considering their triggers, and make a good, low-pressure table food. Gradually give exposure, stability, and inspiration can go a long way in spread your child’s diet.
Strategies and Tips for Helping Your Picky Autistic Child Eat Balanced Diet
Here are some tips for helping your picky autistic child eat a more balanced diet.
Introduce New Foods Gradually
One of the most powerful ways to enlarge an autistic child’s diet is through introducing new foods gradually that is food chaining. This way involves giving new foods which are same in texture, flavor, or look to those your child is already eating. For example, if a child like to eat plain potato chips, you can gradually give him baked potato slices, can also have mashed potatoes, and after that root vegetable like sweet potatoes.
This slow step-by-step approach can help to reduce anxiety level and it will help to accept the changes. The principle is to give small, easy to manage changes rather than abrupt switches. With the passage of time, this can take to a variety and healthy balance diet without disturbing your child’s sensory system.
Create a Predictable Mealtime Routine
Autistic children often feel sound when they believe what is going on. Maintaining a good mealtime routine, like eating at the same times, with the same eating environment, like washing hands before eating, setting up the table, then eating and washing hand after eating. These can help to reduce anxiety for food.
When mealtimes are approaching, the child has to behave calm and not throw tantrums. This designed circumstances help to focus them on the what they are eating instead of being distracted by unpredictable things.
Offer Sensory-Friendly Food Options
Many autistic children are over sensitive to different textures, flavors, colors, or even with temperatures of food. A child instantly reject the food that have slimy, crunchy, or has a strong aroma, even if it’s healthy. Try to give sensory friendly versions of same food what your child is already eating that will help to support your child. Like try to give steamed vegetables instead of raw veges, or giving peeled fruits to remove textures that may disturb them.
Give attention to your child’s sensory liking and match new foods with color, taste they already love. If your child like dry foods, try to offer baked veggie chips or dry beans as beginner.
Use Visual Supports and Food Schedules
Use of pictures, charts, or flash cards help the autistic children to comprehend what kind of food will be served. Having a schedule with images of breakfast, lunch, snacks, and supper will give a sense of control and settled behavior. This will reduce the anxiety and make them prepare for which food is coming for now.
Parents can also use visual menus or choice boards to let children choose and decide between healthy options. Like, show pictures of an apple and a cherry allows them to choose without creating any problem. These visual tools help to design mealtime very structured, which motivate better interactions and reduces hostility.
Make Mealtimes Calm and Distraction-Free
Having a peaceful, quiet table for breakfast can create a big difference for an autistic child . Avoid loud noises, flood lights, or too many people talking, these can trigger their senses, making them hard to concentrate on food. You should minimizing distractions like switch off the TV, dimming bright lights, and remove background noise, by this you can create a more soothing environment that supports having food.
When the surroundings is relaxed and calm, your child feels safe and peaceful and try to discover new things. This stress-free environment can slowly help them to manage their mealtimes with positive incidents rather than uneasiness or distress.
Model Positive Eating Behaviors
When parents have habit of having of variety of healthy foods with good attitude, it creates an example for the autistic child to follow them in this manner. Even if they don’t approach them in that way, looking others having different foods variety can gradually create interest.
Do not use negative comments like he does not like this or You never loved fish. Instead, say like this, This is crunchy and dry, I really love eating this. Copying calm, good behavior about new foods build curiosity in your child to explore new taste without pressure.
Let the Child Participate in Meal Preparation
Involvement of your autistic child in preparing meal can help to create the interest in food. Basic household tasks like washing, cutting vegetables, making batter, or making plate for food can give them a sense of control what they eat.
This experience help them to search food with touching, smelling, or seeing ingredients before eating. It builds informality and try to reduce fear of the unknown. Additionally, it can be a loving activity that convert mealtime into fun time.
Celebrate Small Wins Without Pressure
Making progress with picky eating, especially for autistic children takes time. It’s important to enjoy small steps like smelling, touching, or taking just one bite of food. Your child will understand that trying hard in this regard is just as important as eating as long as you praise their efforts.
Do not reward them with candies or toys to make them pressurize for eating. Offer light encouragement and good words like, you were real hero to try that. These words can help to build confidence and positive connection with food.
Conclusion
Helping your picky autistic child become habitual of eating balanced diet is a time taking process that needs patience, and consistency. By developing a an encouraging mealtime settings, regarding sensory issues, and using practical implementation like food chaining, visual aids, and supportive routines, parents can help the child to taste new foods. Each and every step can make a success, with care and understanding, mealtimes can become beneficial experience for family.
FAQS
Q1: What should I do if my autistic child do not want to try any new foods?
Start with small chunks and be polite. You can use food chaining by giving new foods which are same in texture, flavor, color to foods they are already eating. Do not put pressure and encourage little interaction with new food, even they just want to touch or smell that.
Q2: Can sensory problems really affect my child’s eating habits?
Yes, sensory issues can a play a deep role in food ignorance for most of the autistic children. Textures, smells, colors of the food and how the food looks or gives flavor in the mouth can create irritation. Knowing and adjusting these sensory issues can be helpful in improving mealtime environment.
Here are three reliable resources that provide evidence-based information and strategies for helping autistic children with picky eating:
- Autism Speaks – Feeding and Nutrition
https://www.autismspeaks.org/feeding-and-nutrition - The STAR Institute for Sensory Processing – Feeding and Mealtime
https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/feeding - National Autistic Society (UK) – Eating Difficulties
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/eati
