ASD - fussy eaters and food issues

[TankFlyBoss]

My daughter has been referred for ASD assessment. I am wondering if this may explain some of her food issues and would love to hear from other parents what their ASD children's food issues are.

As a baby / toddler she was unable to eat without regurgitating food. Sometimes vomiting mid meal, a lot of choking and regurgitation. No medical explanation and grew out of this but still very sensitive gag reflex.

Very fussy, dislikes a lot of food textures and says things make her "shiver" when she eats them. Describes other things as "wet" (mince, broccoli). Doesn't like bits , herbs etc.

Won't try anything new, eats unbelievably slowly. She has a reasonable diet of 8-10 ish meals but drives us mad picking things apart before she eats it.

Yes food issues are common with children with autism. Our son only ate very bland food as a child - eg potatoes, spaghetti, cheese, cereals rice pudding, the only fruit he would eat were bananas, and the only vegetable he would eat were carrots.

He has improved a lot since he has grown up, although he still doesn't eat any fruit except bananas.

Our son is only 2y3m but has had sensory issues and has been referred for being "very delayed".

We have put huge effort into his food and I'm a bit evangelical about it. Like your child he is a fantastically slow eater. He also seems to get full easily and then holds food in his mouth, sometimes for ages, like an hour plus! Drives me nuts for some reason!

He had nothing but loose, foul smelling stools for the first 18 months. So my main concern with restricted diet is what it does (or perhaps doesnt) give to his digestive system. We have concentrated on getting him daily prebiotics (a few breakfast cereals focus and advertise on this now) and then I make batches of Jerusalem artichoke patties and leek and potato soup (both high in inulin). We then also try to give him live probiotics mainly in the form of unpasteurised cheese whenever we can. Kombucha and kefir also good...

My philosophy is that eating is an intuitive thing, if a child has a good digestive system they can feel more confident about eating a wider range of things. Obviously may be totally different with your child...

We've seen huge improvements in his stools. His eating is mainly very slow still but very occasionally he is starting to eat at pace. Good luck!