January Mini Institute

10 Tips to Expand Your Child's Diet

Families of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder may be concerned about their child’s feeding abilities. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder frequently have restricted diets consisting of foods with similar characteristics provided in a consistent manner. In fact, research has shown that as many as 90% of individuals with Autism demonstrate feeding difficulties (Kodak & Piazza, 2008). You are NOT alone if your child or student is experiencing these difficulties as well. 
Although we can’t definitively say why feeding difficulties occur so often in those with Autism, we do know that sensory processing skills, restrictive and ritualistic behaviors, a desire for control, and/or other behaviors may play a role. When a child will eat only one food item, or a very small range of food items, we call this a Food Jag (O’Connel, 2016). For many children with Autism, a food jag may lead to a permanent loss of that food from their diet. If your student or child is experiencing difficulty in the area of feeding, here are some strategies and important items to remember. 
  1. Rule out a physical problem 
  2. Sit down for meals with your child
  3. Avoid power struggles during meals (ex: forcing your child to eat) 
  4. Provide one food item at every meal that your child will eat
  5. Avoid making an independent meal for your child
  6. Encourage your child to take a portion of each food to put on their plate (even if they won’t eat it)
  7. Allow your child to engage with foods without being asked to eat them
    1. This may include (From the SOS Feeding Approach):
      1. Looking at the food
      2. Talking about the food
      3. Touching the food
      4. Kissing the food
      5. Tasting and spitting out the food
  8. Encourage play with food outside of mealtimes
  9. Create a reward chart for engagement with foods
  10.  Ensure appropriate posture during meals (ex: child should have support at hips and feet)
Kodak,T.,&Piazza,C.C. (2008). Assessment and behavioral treatment of feeding and sleeping disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 17, 887–905.

O’Connel. (2016). Received from https://www.healthline.com/health/food-jags#takeaway

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