Foods touching - concerning?

[floataboat]

I just wanted general opinions on this because I'm not sure if I should be concerned, or if anyone else has experienced this, please. I hope I don't say the wrong thing, but I've been worrying about it and wondered what others thought.

My DD (9) has always been an incredibly fussy eater. However, she's starting to get bothered by food mixing on her plate, or the texture of it. For example, this evening she won't eat her mashed potato in case it has lumps in it, and she won't eat her baked beans because they have scraps of chicken (that's she's already eaten) in them. Should I be worried about this?

I recognise that this could be a sign of ASD, and then I've started to think about other things that might be that, but I might just be looking for it now. She is generally a clever, sociable, chatty girl who is popular at school, very articulate (chair of the school council last year), loves reading and is developing a good sense of humour and irony. She is the model pupil at school and gets great reports. However, she does still have quite regular tantrums if she doesn't get her own way, which she should really have grown out of, and she can lack empathy at times, e.g. being selfish and not seeing others' points of view. She can also be very whiny, for want of a better word!

Would you be concerned, or could it just be one of those things? I've read that autism can present very differently in girls, which makes it harder to know what to look for.

My dd was like this with food.
She now eats a massive and healthy variety.

I’m like this with food, can’t have one food “contaminating” another. I’m in my 40s. Sorry, that’s not going to make you feel better

Ds 6 is exactly the same . Even ketchup and Mayo can’t touch . I use little bowls to separate elements such as beans , peas, chilli and foods that could run into another one to make meals easier .

You can get plates that you can separate foods.

But yes, autism presents differently in girls. Mask at school and take that energy out at home where it's safe

My DD1 was exactly the same.. she had to have everything in separate dishes for many years. She was also very sensory avoidant...lived in joggers growing up as she couldn't bear the feel of seams.
She's very bright, very articulate but wasn't the easiest of children because she was very definite in how she viewed the world..and it didn't always matched what adults thought (she could also argue a point to death!)

Most kids grow out of it. DD1 developed anorexia in her later teens. It was never about food though it was her control mechanism when she was stressed. Not saying that will happen but it did for DD1. She is (mostly) recovered now, very self aware but it took years. She was also diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum, which surprised no body!

She no long separates her food :)

I'm like this with some foods, and frequently use ramekins and little bowls to separate components of a meal, it's not a big deal, and I am autistic.

Yes, it can be a sign of ASD. My ASD child uses a plate with separating sections so that food can't touch and won't eat any "mixed together" food like curry or bolognaise at all.

It can also indicate sensory processing disorder (SPD) which is (overly simplistic explanation) the sensory difficulties of autism but without the social communication problems so much. That can include the emotional dysregulation you describe.

Equally it might just be a strong preference, or autistic "traits" that don't meet a diagnosis.

I would be concerned enough to look into it further, because autistic girls are often very compliant and go unnoticed until pre-teen or adolescence.

I’m like this with food and always have been, I’m especially fussy about things like baked beans touching other foods and will ask for things in ramekins when out. For me it’s a taste/texture thing as I also eat everything separately. Will your DD eat pasta with sauce on it or does that also have to be separate?

Both my elder sibling and I were like this, to the point that my mam had to buy special plates with dividers to stop the chips touching the peas. We're quite normal with our eating habits now, although neither of us still like getting pea juice on the chips.