ASD and dietary requests

[LyricalBoudicca]

ASD child going on a residential school trip and the dietary request options have been asked for. I’ve never seen an dietary option for unseasoned food ( basically my child only eats bland food) yet throughout his life I don’t think I’ve ever had a request fulfilled (unless I’m in a restaurant and have specifically asked). It’s always attributed to picky eating but it’s beyond that. I don’t want them to go hungry. They won’t say anything and I doubt anyone will notice. Any strategies for dealing?

Is it specifically because he's autistic ?
Or are they asking about food intolerance, s / allergies etc ?
I would just give a list of foods he will eat.

how old is he?

I suspect the refusal is attributable to being on the spectrum- nobody else in the household have any issues with creamy /spicy add- ons.

Can you send him with a load of shelf stable snacks he does like and that require no cooking. Things like individually wrapped plain croissants, apples, dried fruit, nuts etc.

Won't be an ideal diet for a few days but hopefully will top him up enough if there are meals he can't eat.

From my experience of DD going on school residential and brownie camp there would be elements of each meal that are very very plain and may be ok, especially if they know in advance to give him the bland bits. For example they did pasta one night and it was put out as a big bowl of plain pasta, a big bowl of sauce and a big bowl of cheese then they helped themselves to the parts they wanted, breakfast was cereal and toast, lunch was cheese or ham sandwiches with salad and stuff they could have on the side.

12

well you can convey to the school the request
you can speak to her about how to articulate this request
you can pack a load of snacks she will eat
you can accept she will probably come home rather peckish!

or… remove her from the residential

and that is the long and short of it

good lord don’t pack her
off with nuts op like PP said!!

Be specific-
ASD food requirements- plain unseasoned pasta, mild cheddar, white bread, dairyLea triangles etc.

foods must not touch, must be dry.

We manage this at home using ramekins on a plate/ a divided food plate which we are happy to send.

I am happy to send a bag of safe foods, if he could request them at mealtimes if the food isn’t suitable.
Thank you.

Thank you for your tips - if only a Bland option was standard on such forms life would be easier! Amazing how similar the dietary preferences are.

I’d speak with the school to make sure everything is conveyed clearly - particularly if the residential is being hosted by an external provider / outside catering. They need to know that it’s not just picky eating - where the residential could be seen as an opportunity to “get over his fussiness.” I’d imagine that there will always be the option of toast and cereal, plain pasta, sandwiches etc if he isn’t able to eat the main meals.

From my memory of going on a school trip age 12, none of us ate the food - combination of it being 'foreign' and just not very good.

Much energy was devoted to hiding how little we ate from teachers and then filling up on snacks later.

I'd hope for the best but pack a lot of foods your child does eat in their suitcase.

you need to have a conversation and see whether they can actually do food for your son. Unseasoned or bland is too vague for a dietary requirement. Specifics are needed. Do you mean add salt and pepper? or that rice should not have a sauce. Chicken sandwich is fine but not if there’s butter. You also need to find out how they want to manage sending snacks - they might need to manage that centrally rather than kids having their own food.

I’d they can share the menu that might help.

Your conversation needs to be followed by clear written instructions. I would also have a conversation with your kids about what to do if there’s nothing for him to eat - because there’s plenty of examples of medical plans not being followed in trips.

Could you ask the school what type of food they will be eatening . Are they self catering? Are they eating out. Are they. Are they camping. Is it a canteen type eating place.

If you could find this out maybe you could list foods he will and won't eat.

Have a look at the food guidelines for schools. There are very strict limits on seasonings, salt content etc. you may find that the residential centre has to comply with these rules as well and therefore, most of the food is appropriate.

We spoke with school re what they would eat and sent some food.

I think the challenge with this is that ‘bland’ is subjective. If someone said their child only ate bland food, I would assume they meant no spicy or salty food, but a creamy cheesy pasta would be fine. But it sounds like creamy food also isn’t okay? I think this needs to be a conversation with the school rather that a tick box exercise.

Venues that run residentials often pretty much serve standard set meals, so the school will know what the meals are going to be for breakfast/lunch/dinner as they will need to be checked again known allergies. I would ask to discuss the food options so you can check that there will be acceptable foods at each meal and then you can talk about any special requests.

Id speak to the teacher or the school. When I told my Autistic DS teacher he'd need to have the bland versions of dinner, like plain pasta without sauce she was very reassuring that it was something they'd dealt with before and they'd make sure he had something suitable to eat. Its going to be interesting though when his brother, also Autistic, goes next year as there is a very very small list of foods he will eat.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I wish there wasn’t so much demanding I have to do and that there was a plain food/other tickbox on dietary requirements on the sheet.

You don't have to be demanding but you do have to do explaining.

Plain food means lots of different things. It's not like an allergy, no lactose etc.

So it's open to interpretation.

Therefore you are going to need to explain in advance by what you mean by plain food.

So really your only issue is that you can't be bothered to have to explain what your DD will eat?!

A tick box wouldn't work as "bland" or "plain" diet to one person isn't the same as bland to another. My friend's DS will only eat jam sandwiches (no butter) while his brother will only eat bread and butter (no jam). Both could be described as bland or plain food. One of them will eat plain pasta or rice but not chips while the other will eat rice or chips but not pasta.

i think at 12 op, your focus should be on helping your DD articulate her preferences

You need to be clear about what you mean.

We ask for dietary needs on camps and parents of sensory eaters (and often the children themselves) often find it difficult to articulate the issue- presumably they get used to "safe' ways of preparing food and the problem isn't always evident.

Often AFRID needs are quite simple to adapt to because the foods are common and in stock- we just need to know what they can cope with and to avoid touching different foods.

I hear you - but also echo everyone else. This needs to be clearly communicated as a tick box on a form isn't going to do it.

E.g. "Annie has a limited diet due to her autism and only eats plain foods. Please could this be accommodated following discussion with her? For example, if the meal is roast beef, potatoes, vegetables and gravy she will likely just eat the beef and potatoes with no gravy. If its pasta bake and salad, she will likely just want plain pasta, grated cheese and some cucumber".

If it were my child (who is also brand specific) I'd probably also be sending a box of specific cereal and a jar of his usual seedless jam or something as a back up.

We're going to a wedding next week and he's taking a lunchbox!

tick boxes would never work for things like this, it’s more complex than a tick box issue! This is a time where you need to sit down with the staff (and your child if possible) to discuss how best they can be catered for.

Then be prepared they still may not eat it anyway and send some safe foods with them if they will travel ok.

My asd daughter went on a school residential at an outdoor facility a couple of years ago, I had a frank conversation with school beforehand and sent lots of things she would eat incase she spent eat the food provided. She ate a mixture of both as summer off the food provided were her safe foods.

she’s due to go on a trip to a city with school in a cooler of days. When we were told about it I had a chat with school to make sure they places they will eat are suitable and can accommodate her, they told me the plans and said they would make her food (pot noodle is her absolute safe food) at the hotel if needed and they can take lots of snacks.
Now it’s only a few days away it’s another more detailed chat with school to make sure they order her plain burgers etc

all the above is classed as reasonable adjustments and is what school should be doing to support a Sen child