Is there a special diet for autism?
One of the areas of clinical practice I’ve been increasingly and intentionally specializing in is nutrition for people with an autism spectrum disorder. And a question I often get from clients is, “Is there a special diet for autism?”
The short answer is no. Autism spectrum disorders are a broad group of diagnoses, and each person has bio-individual needs! In this blog, I’ll be exploring diet and autism in the context of often-overlooked non-nutritional factors experienced by many people with ASDs.
Special diets and sensory experiences
To be clear, not everyone with autism has tightly selective eating patterns. But most of my autistic clients have reported some degree of sensory amplification that can make shopping, meal planning, and eating (especially with others) a sometimes challenging experience. Any special dietary needs recommended to a person with ASD must be considered in the context of their sensory needs.
Issues that my clients report include:
- Specific texture aversions. For example, some people may have a very hard time with foods that feel slimy, mushy, or too “grainy,” such as mustard seeds.
- A narrow temperature range for foods to be eaten comfortably.
- Hypersensitivity to certain “kitchen noises” associated with food preparation or eating. This might include the noise of metal against ceramic or metal against metal, difficulty tolerating the chewing noises with certain types of food, or dealing with the overstimulation of multiple people talking during a meal.
- Hypersensitivity to smells. This can make it hard to shop in certain types of stores or to cook or eat certain foods due to their smell, or to tolerate the smell of a food on someone else’s plate.
It’s important to understand that these sensory experiences aren’t a choice. These experiences can overload the nervous system and can be truly painful for people with ASDs. As one client expressed it, “When my mom crunches her food, that’s pain in my ears. When my dad microwaves leftover fish, the smell is poison to my nose. And the texture of the applesauce my grandma makes is enough to make me retch. They don’t understand, but it’s like a special kind of hell that only I know exists.”
Special diets, meal preparation, and organization
Some of my clients with autism have difficulty improvising in the kitchen and are uncomfortable with the idea of spontaneously substituting ingredients in a recipe. Sometimes there’s a pattern of feeling more comfortable with routine patterns, like a recurring weekly meal plan or menu or starting each day with the same breakfast.
For someone with these needs, a special diet can be planned accordingly with the use of appropriate recipes that encompass their nutritional goals, a meal planning app, or a meal calendar. Ideas for apps can be found here and here. However, a simple daily calendar can work just as well for creating a set schedule.
Special diets and individualized nutritional therapy
When I work with clients on the autism spectrum, my goal is to meet the client’s nutritional needs while being aware of their food sensitivities, preferences, and aversions, as well as their sensory experience around food sourcing, preparation, and mealtimes. Sometimes we need to be creative with textures for vegetables or to find very specific types of recipes. This is all part of creating a special diet for autism—working together with the unique person and finding solutions that are best for them!
When it comes to supplements, capsule size and supplement form can make a difference, such as whether something is liquid or chewable. The smell of a supplement can also be an important factor. I like to ask clients questions about their previous experiences with supplements before recommending something.
ASDs are an area where I’ve been really happy with my clients’ health outcomes as well as their feedback on our work together. I consistently hear from my clients that they are surprised to receive nutritional support from someone who actually understands their sensory experience.
If you are on the autism spectrum, it can be frustrating to work with someone who is entrenched in a neurotypical paradigm. Nutritional therapy works best when the professional working with you understands where you’re coming from and is able to listen and believe you when you recount your experience. A special diet should work for you versus fulfilling a set of black-and-white nutritional needs.
Let’s work together!
If you are overwhelmed or confused, make sure you reach out for help! You can learn more about my individualized client work here.
And if you’re a holistic healthcare practitioner looking to provide excellent client-centered support to children and adults with selective eating patterns, check out my case study group, where you can learn from me.