Eating and feeding problem are common topics for parents among their children’s. Many parents of children with autism report that their children have a feeding problem. They don’t take a proper meal.
If you are also facing the same feeding problem then don’t worry because after reading this complete guide on autism and feeding problem you will be able to handle your autistic child’s feeding problem.
Let’s have a look…
Autism (ASD) are developmental disorders in which kids may have trouble understanding the world around them and disturb children by disrupting their ability to communicate and interact socially.
Children with autism have difficulty in understanding what other people think and feel. A child with autism sometimes troubles with even pained.
Feeding Problem Associated With Autism
The children with autism have different behavior than others, nonverbal communication, poor use of body language that affected their eating habits. In autism, the child consumes a very narrow range and the number of foods.
Many parents report that their child with autism refuses to touch food, utensils, not sitting in family meals, being revolted by the smell of foods and not accept the new food.
What Are The Feeding Problem With Autism Children’s
Eating involves every sensory system (contact, locate, taste, smell also, stable). Kids with ASD experience issues with difficulty preparing and this can make an eating challenge for them. Youngsters with extreme introvertedness can likewise create conduct issues at mealtimes. For instance, kids may discover that they can clear out the table and play in the wake of denying nourishment they don’t care for.
Analysts found that 69% of kids with ASD were unwilling to attempt new foods and another 46% had customs surrounding their eating habits. Feeding problem in any child can be stressful for both the parents and child.
Children need proper nutrients, calories, vitamins to maintain good health and growth.
Suggested Read: Gluten Casein-Free Diet For Autism
There are some common issues that are come up with lots of kids
- Tantrums and meltdowns at mealtimes.
- Needing either really strong or really bland food.
- Wanting foods to be a particular color.
- Getting stressed over new foods – sometimes even if they’re eaten by someone else or just sitting in the room.
- Getting obsessed on particular flavors like salty or sweet, which makes healthy eating much harder.
- Being revolted by the smell of certain foods.
- Refusing to eat one or more food groups preferring carbohydrates such as pasta, noodles, rice, bread etc.
- Refusing to eat certain textures.
- They don’t want the way the food tastes in their mouth.
- They don’t like the sound of the food makes when they chew it.
- The smell of the food bothers them.
- Most of the Autism children face digestion problem.
Some people eat things that are not food. Such as paper, plant, dirt, and clothing. This is known as PICA. This is dangerous behavior. We need to watch the person carefully to avoid them from pica.
TIPS FOR IMPROVES YOUR CHILD’S DIET
Don’t panic or tensed, there are some tips that parent can do to help their child’s diet better and healthy.
These tips have been proven effective in most of the feeding problem cases.
- Set a feeding schedule and routine- Children’s with autism loves routine. Have your child eat at the same time, the same place and follow the same routine.
- Avoid all day eating- Don’t allow snacking all day. This decreases the willingness to try new food. Other relatives should not eat snack all day either. If your family snacks all day, a child will too.
- Provide comfortable sitting- Choose your child’s place at the table and set up the eating space. Try to place your child in the high chair. So it’s not distracting.
- Limit mealtime- Put a time limit on the meal, 15-20 minutes will definitely work. At the end of the mealtime, remove all food items and allow your child to other activity.
- Minimize distraction-Try to avoid things like television and toys, keep the table fairly clear, and perhaps simplify the room, in general, Make the eating space a place where he or she can focus on food.
- Ignore negative behavior- Ignore your child when he or she is doing things such as spitting, throwing or refusing food. You don’t want to support these habits by paying attention to them. So just ignore them.
- Presentation of food- Try to present food in small bites or fun to make it more likely your child will eat it.
- Try some movement before the meal
- Set up the calm and patient atmosphere
If these things do not work, don’t let yourself down, You are not a bad parent, you are just dealing with some difficult problems, so don’t panic and don’t blame yourself.
At this point, you need to look for experts help-
- A clinical psychologist or behavioral specialist
- Speech and language therapists
- Dieticians
- Dentists
FINAL WORD
We accept that every child is unique and this information may not work for everyone. We will suggest you to always consult a doctor or experts. This content is general information. We just hope that these tips and information will help you with feeding problem with your autistic child.
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