Food aversion is very similar to a subcategory of ARFID called sensory avoidance, which is when a person has issues with food tastes, textures, temperature, and smells. What avoids the slip into ARFID is the quantity of food a child consumes. As long as a child has enough “safe foods” to find the nourishment their body needs, they remain food averse and not ARFID.
Many children, especially autistic children, struggle with this. In fact, food aversion is common with autism, Broberg-Moffitt says, and can also be an indicator for the undiagnosed.
Picky Eating Or Actual Food Aversion? Why Parents Should Know The Difference
Most of us have something that would qualify as a food aversion. So let’s enter this journey with this core thought: Food aversion is okay. It’s not something I’m trying to cure. It’s not my intention to force change. My mission is to encourage acceptance of food aversion, remove the stress around the dinner table, and make eating as much of a joyful and enjoyable experience as possible.
Color Taste Texture: Recipes for Picky Eaters, Those with Food Aversion, and Anyone Who’s Ever Cringed at Food by Matthew Broberg-Moffitt
“Color Taste Texture” is such a compassionate, validating, and accessible guide. We recommend it to our community.
In all actuality, our kids might be in distress with no way of communicating it.
Picky Eating Or Actual Food Aversion? Why Parents Should Know The Difference
“Picky Eaters”
Why am I so “picky”? Well, if you could experience my senses for a few hours, I bet you’d be more understanding, less judgmental, and I’m fairly certain you’d stop using the word “picky” pretty quickly.
Often times, I want desperately to like a food, to be able to order anything at random, or to just eat whatever is put in front of me without hesitation. But for me, food is almost always a relentlessly overpowering experience.
It’s not just taste that’s overwhelming—so are texture, smell, color, consistency, and more. What if I told you certain foods literally hurt to eat? That some trigger vivid memories that are disorientating and distressing? That some foods make me nauseous and panicky? Throw in IBS, general stomach and digestive issues, multiple food allergies and sensitivities, and it’s actually pretty impressive that I eat at all.
Rethinking Being a “Picky Eater”
If you’ve declared your child a “picky eater,” you’ve probably heard a particular refrain from well-meaning family and friends: “When they get hungry enough, they’ll eat.” The danger with this? Actual food aversion is a neurobiological response that cannot be persuaded, giving that piece of advice the potential to do a lot of harm.
Picky Eating Or Actual Food Aversion? Why Parents Should Know The Difference
There are no “picky eaters” at Stimpunks. We reframe “picky” as selective or hypersensory. We like our samefoods for reasons. They are compatible with our heightened senses.
Some Autistic people get called picky eaters, but actually we’re often just selective or sensory eaters.
A_Different_Spectrum
Food Aversion and ARFID
Food aversion can tip into ARFID if food intake doesn’t keep the body nourished enough for growth.
Picky Eating Or Actual Food Aversion? Why Parents Should Know The Difference
Autistic people are more likely than the general population to experience Avoidant / Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Shea (2016) identifies that the ARFID pattern of eating is common in autistic individuals and that ‘sensory sensitivity is likely to be one of the underlying causes’.
Some people have sensory sensitivity that does not meet ARFID diagnostic criteria. Some people find that food separators can be helpful at mealtimes. Many people could benefit from additional choice and control at mealtimes to ensure that they are supported to make healthy and balanced choices, while meeting their sensory needs.
Food aversion is neurobiological.
Food aversion is neurobiological.
“If you’re biting into something and it’s not what you’re expecting, your brain is going to start sending you signals,” Broberg-Moffitt tells me. And for neurodivergent children, especially those with sensory processing disorder, those signals are so much stronger. “They can’t tune them out.” A child might be feeling like, I should not eat this. I cannot eat this. This is bad. Yet, Broberg-Moffitt explains, their loved one is telling them, ‘No, go ahead eat it.’”
According to Broberg-Moffitt, forcing a child to eat when they’re reacting strongly to food could create a schism. While someone they love is telling them to eat something, their body and brain are telling them it’s a hazard. Ultimately, says Broberg-Moffitt, “They cannot physically do it.”
Picky Eating Or Actual Food Aversion? Why Parents Should Know The Difference
Safe Foods
Keeping “safe foods” on hand ensures that, if your child rejects what you offer, you have a better shot at ensuring they’re still getting the calories and nutrients they need. The saying is true: Fed really is best.
Picky Eating Or Actual Food Aversion? Why Parents Should Know The Difference
Physical Environment and Sensory Load
We heard from some contributors that the right physical environment can support them to manage and enjoy food.
“It’s Not Rocket Science” – NDTi
We use all our internal and external senses when we eat. Reducing the sensory load by getting the physical environment right can make a significant difference to people’s ability to eat and enjoy food. It is possible to reduce the sensory load at mealtimes by getting the environment right.
“It’s Not Rocket Science” – NDTi
We have heard that some children and young people feel they need to skip meals rather than enter a challenging sensory environment.
“It’s Not Rocket Science” – NDTi
A higher proportion of autistic people than of neurotypical people have eating disorders or disordered eating.
We use all our internal and external senses when we eat. Reducing the sensory load by getting the physical environment right can make a significant difference to people’s ability to eat and enjoy food. It is possible to reduce the sensory load at mealtimes by getting the environment right.
It can be helpful for people to have choice and control over where they eat, and if they eat with other people or alone. Some people may need staff support, even if they choose a lower sensory input environment.
There is an ‘over-representation’ of autistic people with Anorexia Nervosa and avoidant / restrictive food intake disorder. This may require more intensive and/or targeted interventions.
“It’s Not Rocket Science” – NDTi
Samefoods
Samefood
The term “samefood” refers to the autistic tendency to eat the same food very frequently or even exclusively for days, weeks, even months at a time.
Samefood can be used as a noun or a verb. For example:
“Sour cream and onion chips are my samefood right now.”
or
“I don’t usually samefood much, but this past week I can’t stop eating spicy ramen.”
A samefood often needs to be prepared in a very specific way, eaten in a ritualistic manner, or may only be a specific brand.
Anything outside of these criteria is Not Right and does not satisfy the samefood need.
It is considered upsetting and tragic when someone else in the household eats your samefood without consulting you, or if you ask someone to buy you a particular brand and they bring home a different one instead.
Autistic folk will commiserate with each other over tragedies like this because to us they ARE tragedies and neurotypical people just don’t understand.
If you have ever made yourself sick bingeing on whipped cream or discovered that yes, you CAN eat too many pumpkin seeds, you’ll find no judgement in the autistic community.
We welcome you and your samefoods.
7 Cool Aspects of Autistic Culture » NeuroClastic
