Autism and over eating help

[Lily189]

Hi everyone

My son is 2 and waiting his diagnosis appointment for autism he is a brilliant child he's so loving and happy all the time he is non verbal and uses hand leading to show us when he wants a drink but that's all atm

Hes only eats finger foods eg nuggets sausages fish fingers pizza waffles alphabytes toast pancakes and sandwiches
and crips choclate and haribo (only as a treat)
He used to eat potatoes and veg mashed but he now refuses to eat it and won't eat anything off a spoon

But for around the last 6 months he's become obsessed with food and drinking
He still uses a bottle and will only drink squash ano it's not great but I've discussed this with the doctor and atm he said it best let him as it only thing he drinks
It's as soon as his bottle is done he wants more and same with food he'll have full meltdowns at the fridge and rushes his food into him to try and get everyone else and will cry and throw himself on the floor as if he's really starving
It's got to the point me and my partner eat dinner when he's in bed as its less stressful for us all
Some days when he's really bad you can't even go near the fridge as he gets that worked up when you don't give him food

My heart breaks for him because he's so upset and I dunno if he really does feel hungry all the time because he can't tell me

His play group told me last week he was trying to take all kids food and was crying for more after he already had extra

I spoke to his doctor about this but he can't really do anything as it needs to be with the child development team who will diagnose him

I'm just wondering if anyone has been through similar what I can do to help him
I've tryed distracting him playing with him all only work for a few seconds or not at all

All advice would be great tia

Assuming it's sugar free squash I wouldn't worry about it, just let him have as much as he wants. It's virtually zero calories.

For the food, can you make it really boring outside of meal times? So offer only plain malt wheaties or something. It's high in fibre, filling, fortified with all sorts but not calorie dense and not exactly exciting!

It may be a sensory thing. Have you tried giving him a chewy toy? It might help him get his sensory feedback and reduce his need to eat.

Won’t he try other foods? That all sounds really unhealthy, has he had a vitamin deficiency test?

This is very common in autistic children, they feel like they have a hole that they try to fill with food. My DS is exactly the same and overeats, although he is a teenager so it’s a little harder to stop him. It is also common that beige foods are the only ‘safe’ foods that they’ll accept.
Your DS is very young to be displaying this though and you’re right to tackle the issue. Are you waiting for a CAMHS diagnosis? It may be worth getting in touch with them to update them on how your DS is getting on and that you’re worried.
I agree with a pp that it could be sensory.
Try and form a strict routine for meal times and stick to it. He’ll respond well to this. Whichever time he has his lunch at nursery for example, stick to this if he’s home. Try to encourage more protein and slow release complex carbs rather than sugary foods (I know that’s hard!) As for the juice, as long as it’s low sugar and as weak as you can get away with it’s fine. It’s better than him getting dehydrated.
He may also be dysregulated and overstimulated which is why he’s getting upset. Try a dark room with a fan. This can help calm. Also a very light, age appropriate weighted blanket can help soothe (check with him being so young though….)
I recommend you read The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene, it has some great advice and can make sense of things a lot more. I found it really helpful. Also the adapt course on Recovery College is good.
It’s great that you’ve recognised this early on. I hope you don’t have to wait long to get him some help, it sounds like he could do with a diagnosis and possibly a referral to a paediatrician.

It could well be sensory so it's worth trying a chewy toy.

Another thing would be freezing his juice into ice lollies so he gets the oral stimulation. I'd say low cal jelly, but it sounds like he's not into squishy food at the moment.

I'm pretty sure the OP is fully aware that his diet isn't ideal. You don't need to run salt into the wound.

I'm assuming that your dealings with ND children are minimal.

Oh I’m sure he’s open to trying everything but the OP just prefers to force feed him beige food. Thank goodness you posted so she can know that what she needs to do is get him to try other foods. Phew cuppasoupmonster to the rescue!

OP it’s very common in children with ASD and there could be lots of reasons. It could be sensory seeking but equally he could just not be able to read his body to know he’s full.

Its Something to bring up with the cdc during assessment and ask for further advice and referal

No I try every day with vegetables and fruit with him but he won't eat it no need to be nasty when you don't know my child and how he reacts to food sorry I feed my child the only things he will eat i was asking for advice not criticism I am learning everyday and it's hard to watch my 2 year old face so many problems and be offered no help until child development has seen him but thanks for ur criticism not at all what mumsnet is ment to be about

Prada Willis syndrome needs to be looked at as a possibility for overeating.

Lily, there was a book published years ago now called ‘can’t eat, won’t eat, and it does a really good job of explaining the problems our children have with food, especially when something is explained by a contributor who’s on the spectrum.

Regarding beige food. Children very often restrict themselves to it because it very rarely changes taste and appearance unless a manufacturer decides to revamp it. They need the familiarity of the meals being exactly the same each time.

AS for over eating - its also a common problem and something that we still face with my adult son. We do have it under control though but he’s older and we can work with it.

There is a condition that can mimic autism, it’s called Prader Willi Syndrome and it causes uncontrollable eating (amongst other things). Maybe have a read up on it and see what you think.

And if you need some information about ASD then Jessica Kingsley publishers are fabulous for books on autism.

Also just know there are people here for you and my advice would be to not engage in any reply with the posters who have nothing better to do than make a fool of themselves on line.

Sorry, I didn’t see your reply when I posted.

Hey OP,

You haven't mentioned if your child is overweight/gaining weight too fast for his height ? This is important as this could tell us whether he really is that hungry (growth spurt ? Digestive issue ?) or he is wanting to eat for another reason (comfort ? Sensory issues ? Fear of going without ?)

Prader-willi should be rulled out, but it's quite rare in any case.

Most likely is that the eating is a symptom of something else, either physical or emotional, and you can only try to fix it once you find out what that is.

In the meantime it sounds like you're doing everything you can to manage it.

Maybe try to give him unsalted whole wheat crackers ? My son loves them (NT though, but maybe your son will like them as they're quite bland). And I would try to remove all food from his sight outside of mealtimes, so as not to trigger him (as a short term solution). See if that makes any différence ?

I'm sorry, I have no personal experience, this is what came to mind - maybe you've already tried all of this.