Fussy eater in italy

[Lovehummous]

I will be taking my 11 year to italy in June, it's our first holiday abroad! I want to be excited but I'm too preoccupied with worrying about what he's going to eat for 5 days. He has autism and is very picky. Currently he eats - chicken dippers, turkey dinosaur, garlic bread, naan bread, Yorkshire puddings, popcorn chicken. That's it. We will be visiting molfetta for 2 days and then visiting san michele salentino for 3 days. Is anyone familiar with these places and know any supermarkets/restaurants nearby that will have English food? Or food that is very similar

Don’t listen to people saying don’t go! Go, and show him he can still travel even if he can’t eat much at dinner time - he can snack more for a few days and will eat more at home. Well done you, for booking the trip, it must be nerve-wracking thinking about food but if you let go of the stress by packing loads of safe snacks, you will enjoy yourselves whether or not he eats. Have a brilliant time!

One more suggestion for toast since I have seen your second post. Italian bread bought in bakery will all be sourdough or fresh yeast, and not square.
To get the toast shaped loaf, you need to ask if they sell pane a cassetta. You can find this one in the supermarket but usually not in the fresh bread section, in the crackers section on a shelf.
As far as I remember, Italian bakeries don't have a cutting machine, so bread is sold whole.

No, order plain food and take crackers etc. please don’t spend your pressure holiday time in supermarkets trying to recreate his awful diet.

You don’t live with an autistic child, do you? This would never work.

Why are people so nasty on here. My goodness i only asked a question. Happy people aren't nasty and nasty people aren't happy. Thanks to those who understand, and who were nice in their response.

And of course you should go! Italy in June is wonderful. People are super nice and kind, and very accepting towards kids.

Thank you for the insight.

His "awful diet" is the result of having sensory issues around food. You're quite small minded aren't ya?

So would I. And I have had to accept there’s sweet FA I can do about my child surviving on a diet of digestives and nuggets. I have no power!

Italy is definitely one of the lesser of all evils for picky eaters, especially if he likes garlic bread and breaded chicken! First place we went where we hadn’t issues (to be fair one of my kids is mad on pasta the other pizza). Best of luck op x (and enjoy, am so jealous!!!)

I hope you have a lovely time, OP. Try and bring something in your case - ie cereal or biscuits if he would eat as a back up. And bring something for constipation.

One of my kids has ARFID but doesn't have ASD. We have been all over europe and across the USA. He eats bread so we accept that that's what he'll eat. He might eat pasta al burro but isn't that keen. We have sometimes managed a plain pizza base but he's happier with the crusty bread that comes at the beginning or a packet of breadsticks. He might eat variants of croissant type food or things made from batter. He'll eat ice cream.

Beyond that, he ate a big breakfast of cereal and toast and would also fill up on that before bed.

He is now an adult who is 6' tall and works in a manual occupation. Still doesn't eat outside his safe foods. He and his girlfriend go on trips to Europe and he finds something beige to eat.

We never allowed his food issues to stop us travelling and we never made an issue of food.

"He'll eat if he's hungry enough".
Nope

Congratulations.

Meanwhile the op's child has Autism and a restricted diet ...

I took a very fussy eater to Rome.

the posh restaurants are very tricky. So we didn’t eat there.

the pizza joints did garlic bread no problem. Nearly everywhere will do you a plain pasta with either butter or cheese (and will put the cheese in the side).

we also ate back at the hotel most evenings - there are lots of mini supermarkets and delis where you can get breads, cheese, fruits, olives, lots of chocolate and pastries. My reluctant eater loved the pastry shop.

Just wanted to say that people are bullying dicks, ignore them!! Most Italians are going to be way nicer than these mean bitter old shrews. If I were you I’d look up the Italian for “my son is autistic, he can’t eat X, Y and Z. Do you please have X, Y and Z?”

People will be so nice! I think you’ll be grand with pollo Milanese (or sometimes called cotoletto), garlic bread, chicken nugs from the supermarket. McDonalds will do chicken nugs as well. You can get British style supermarket sliced bread.

I hope I didn't come out sounding nasty when suggesting kebab places. Italy doesn't have a processed food culture so it is quite hard to find those unless one is in a big city like Milan or the typical place for UK/USA tourists such as Como or Garda or Amalfi coast. I was trying to guide you on how to find a processed food place.
A restaurant with pictures or those with neon display might have some of the accepted food.
If breaded chicken / schnitzel is an option, it can be called in two ways: " una cotoletta " or "scaloppina impanata" and then you should ask " che carne " which meat, because you can have chicken (pollo), pork (maiale) or veal (vitello) . If you want chips, you say " con patatine fritte"

I’m really not. I know a lot about food, including eating disorders, ortherexia and arfid. I know what it feels like to physically be unable to eat something- a smell or texture can make me vomit, even thinking about some foods makes my stomach churn and I salivate- not in a precursor to enjoying it but feeling about to vomit. I can go for days without feeling hungry and left to my own devices would eat rarely when my MH is bad.
However I had parents who introduced a variety of foods, never made me clear my plate, accommodated my preferences and ensured I had a balanced diet. Take back ups but look at this holiday as a chance to broaden his diet.

Every autistic child is different. I have one who will happily sit down to a Lebanese and try anything. Another only eats biscuits and nuggets. Have you never heard the saying “When you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person”.

Agree with others about taking lots of safe foods that travel well. At least then if he won’t eat dinner he will hopefully not have an empty tummy. He might surprise you by finding a new safe food you can recreate for him at home. Your follow up post about the snacks he will eat actually show it’s a bland diet for most of us but not an extremely limited one compared to many who have ARFID. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

Hope you have a lovely holiday. And try to ignore the rude, ignorant infuriatingly smug responses you’ve had from some people on this thread.

If that worked for you then fantastic. But please don’t assume it will work for everyone. Sadly that isn’t the case

And yes, as others have said, the typical restaurant can be very accomodating. So it is worth asking if they can make something just for him.
English language might not be common in Southern Italy restaurants. This is why I put all the Italian names.

Good for you. You probably don’t mean to sound smug. Your life could have been very different and you would have to just get with the programme and organise a constant supply of nuggets.

Just want to say that ARFID has always existed. My grandfather studied with someone who had it in the 1940s. He was always very understanding and compassionate about it, unlike some of the twats on here!

I think it just went under the radar more because everyone lived off meat and two veg and even mistrusted garlic.

I meant this in reply so someone saying their child had only ever eaten food like this at a party.

She is asking for a bit of low key advice about food options from people who have already travelled there.
People might have similar concerns for a variety of reasons... religious food requirements, intolerances, vegan/vegetarianism.
It's quite a normal thing to ask for tips from people who have been.
Even if the food side of things is a bit stressful he will likely enjoy all the other things Rome has to offer. You're fixating on the food issue only.

It sounds like you just want to be unkind about it tbh.