Children being picky eaters is a rather common complaint from parents and teachers of children who are on the autism spectrum. Some children refuse to eat certain textures, some avoid certain colors, and others certain categories of food. This pickiness may result in frustration and conflict between caregiver and child. It sometimes also leads to guilt (yes, the ‘g’ word), as the parents try desperately to get the kid to eat.
There are many reasons children on the autism spectrum are picky eaters including, but not limited to, poor oral motor skills, deficient motor planning skills, sensory processing deficits, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Over the years, many very good and effective treatment methods have been developed and are being implemented by caring and competent speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists who have advanced training in feeding interventions. Outlining and detailing these approaches is beyond the scope of this post.
The million dollar question, which is perhaps a risky one, is what is the purpose of treating these picky eaters? What are we trying to accomplish? What, if anything, are we trying to prevent?
The answer that unanimously comes to mind is: Nutrition. We all want our kids to grow up to be strong, healthy, and nutritious. If your child doesn’t eat, or if he’s a picky eater, he cannot grow up strong, healthy, and nutritious. Or so the thinking goes.
However new research on the finicky eating habits of children with autism finds that while autistic children do tend to eat a less varied diet than other kids, their feeding preferences have little negative effect on their height, weight and growth.
The researchers found that by the time they were 1 month old, autistic children were already 35% more likely than unaffected children to be slow feeders. By 1 year, their diets were considerably less varied — they ate fewer vegetables and fruits, but they also consumed less sweets and carbonated beverages. By that age, parents also reported that children with ASD were nearly twice as likely to be choosier about their food than unaffected children.
However, the scientists found no significant differences in the total energy intake or overall carbohydrate, fat and protein consumption between the autistic children and the controls at 18 months. All the children were similar in height, weight and body mass index (or BMI, a ratio of height and weight used to measure obesity).
So children with autism are significantly more likely than children who are not on the spectrum to have feeding issues. However, there is no noticeable difference in their appearance or body mass index.
“For parents of an autistic child, these data suggest they needn’t be too concerned about their child’s eating habits,” says Pauline Emmett, a nutritionist and one of the authors of the paper published in Pediatrics. “In general, these children are not going to end up malnourished. I think it’s a hopeful message for parents.”
This is certainly not the final word on treating eating and feeding deficits in children with autism. I just found the article interesting and wanted to share this perspective on the matter. Read the entire article for other angles on the connection between feeding deficits and whether it is a predictor of later autism.
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