Developing a healthy food habit in autistic children is no less than challenge for their parents. The difficulty mainly arises because of their preference for a particular food item. Autistic children love to follow a fixed schedule religiously and the same rule applies when it comes to their meal. If they like any food item they tend to develop an addiction for it and this addiction can get extended to the level of refusing to take meal if due to some reason their favorite food is not available. Parents of such children often have to face such difficult situation.
Autistic children generally have sensory issues that make them sensitive to light, touch and taste. This sensitivity of taste can lead to their developing unhealthy food habit. These children tend to be extremely persnickety and picky when their food matter is concerned and often they are found throwing tantrums. At times it becomes really difficult to get your little one eat something and you lose the sleep of your night thinking if he/ she is getting sufficient amount of nutrition. One solution to overcome their food fixation is to introduce variety in their meal, in other words to include the same food in another manifestation. For example if your child loves orange, instead of always giving him the whole orange, try giving him orange juice. You can be sure they will not even touch vegetables, so try giving them some v8. Yes, at times you might feel like you are the hostess of a restaurant, providing different food for different children, if you have other kids too, but all it takes is some time to get adjusted to it. Another thing that might make your autistic child scream is the fact of one food touching another food, as you know that these children are obsessed about precision. You can easily overcome this problem by using divider plates that will keep the food items separate.
As a parent your duty is to provide your child with proper nutrition to maintain his health, but at the same time you should also provide them with what they need. Keep a close watch on what type of foods are being consumed by your child. If you see that his meal is completely lacking in any essential element, your last resort in that case should be the supplements.
