Mealtimes for children with autism can be challenging, but that doesn’t mean you can’t navigate meals with relative ease. Below we discuss some strategies that can go a long way toward making mealtime more enjoyable for you and your family.

Why do children with autism have a hard time eating

Before reviewing strategies to make mealtime with a child with autism more successful, it’s useful to understand why mealtimes can be challenging for children with autism. Although the factors ultimately vary depending on the child, some common issues include: 

• Postural issues
• Sensory processing overloads or deficits
• Issues with the texture, smell, flavor, and other aspects of eating. 

If your child is struggling with mealtimes there will usually be some adjustments you can make in order to make it easier. Pay attention to your child’s behavior and see if you can identify what the underlying causes of their behavior might be. Tracking your experiences with your child at mealtimes can be a useful practice to better understand the successes and challenges your child is facing in this area. And remember that you can always reach out to your care team or other professionals for support.

Mealtime tips for children with autism

By following some basic tips, you can make breakfast, lunch, or dinner a breeze.

Here are a few mealtime tips for children with autism:

• Don’t make any sudden changes to their mealtime
• Gradual exposure to foods is better than sudden modifications to diet
• Relax your child before mealtime
• Consult with experts
• Be sure to monitor and support posture during mealtimes

Below we go into more details about each of the above bullet points.

Pacing 

One of the most important tips to improve mealtime for your child with autism is to focus on the pacing of any changes. Keep in mind that children with autism will deal with changes differently than neurotypical people. Because of this, it’s best to introduce your child with autism to new foods slowly. 

Success doesn’t have to be in a day - it can be gradual.

Relax 

Another important aspect of mealtime is to create opportunities for your child to relax beforehand. If your child has difficulty with mealtimes or if their mealtime is causing resistance from them, playing, reading, or engaging in other disarming activities before a meal can help solve this issue. 

Realistically, this activity will vary depending on the child, but it’s important to note that whatever activity calms them down the most efficiently is usually the best. You know your child best, so consider what relaxing activities might work best for your child.

Play 

Another important thing to remember is that it’s not a negative thing to use food play if this helps your child navigate mealtime more successfully. A child with autism may engage better with their breakfast, lunch, or dinner if it is viewed as a fun activity. What this means is that by having your child focused on the food in fun, unique and creative ways, they can enjoy their meal more successfully than if it were presented in a more “boring” way.. Some ways to do this may be playing pretend, making the food “move”, or other fun mealtime activities.

Posture

Posture can be a significant aspect of mealtime with all children. Poor posture can have a negative impact on swallowing and digesting. Keep in mind that children with autism may struggle with their posture more so than neurotypical children, so ensuring that your child has the proper posture before, during, and after a meal can be extremely important and helpful in making mealtime more successful. This can be done by changing the seating, adding or removing pillows and cushions, or, if their feet don’t reach the floor, adding a step stool below and in front of them for them to rest their feet on.

Consult

It’s important to consult with medical professionals if you’re struggling with navigating mealtimes with your child. These experts are trained in supporting children with autism, so they’re able to suggest activities and techniques that you can incorporate to improve your child’s mealtimes even more. 

Teaching a child with autism to feed themselves

If your child is struggling to feed themselves, you don’t have to worry or become stressed in this situation. Keep in mind that this is not a developmental problem, and simply is another aspect of a challenge to overcome.

There are several common ways to teach and assist a child with autism in feeding themselves, such as:

• Giving your child bite-sized foods and only a few pieces of food at a time, which allows your child to manage their food easier.
• Allowing your child to first become acquainted with eating with their hands before proceeding to teaching them how to use forks, knives, and other utensils.
• Realizing that children with autism may restrict their food range to a very limited number of foods - in some cases, only several. Gradually trying different foods may improve the chances that your child learns to feed themselves independently, but remember to do so slowly.

Helping a child with autism successfully try new foods depends heavily on how new food is introduced. Introducing the food in a manner that is jarring or creates a negative reaction in your child is going to shut down their acceptance of that food.

Because of this, it’s best to gradually introduce new food, often with other foods which the child already views positively. By doing so, you can help your child open themselves up to this new food and, hopefully, enjoy eating it independently as time progresses.

Final Thoughts

As with many things related to your child, patience is key. When helping your child with autism to navigate mealtimes, whether that’s trying new foods or improving posture, it's important to manage expectations. Do not expect results overnight, but with time and a variety of strategies and supports, you’ll have a greater chance of seeing your child enjoy different foods and navigate mealtimes successfully. Finally, it’s always important to remember that when you’re in doubt about any implementation of techniques, mealtimes, or simply have questions about your child and their reaction to certain foods, seeking the advice of an expert is one of the best things you can do. 

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