DS constantly hungry

[FatCatThinCat]

8 year old DS has autism and constantly complains about being hungry and seeking food. Literally all the time. It's driving me bonkers. His BMI puts him in the overweight bit but he'd only have to lose half a kg to get back into the health weight zone. I'm trying to control what he eats as I don't want it to spiral but the whinging doesn't stop.

What can I do?

He also won't drink at all which is a nightmare as he has bowel problems too as a result. This may also be affecting his appetite I think. The only thing I can get him to drink is a small weak chocolate milkshake in the morning and one at night, which he'll only drink if it's in his baby cup.

You are right that he is probably thirsty rather than hungry- can you do lots of wet food? Cucumber, apples, cereal with lots of milk, soup, stewed fruit with a little custard?

Unfortunately he won't eat any of that. He has cheerios for breakfast but has them dry, won't touch them if I put milk on. The only other option I can see is sun lollies, he'd eat them all day. But they're full of sugar so won't help his weight.

Do I let him have ice lollies to fix his dehydration and possibly reduce his hunger. Or do I focus on keeping his weight down? I do let himhave free range on the ice lollies when it's hot in summer and he was having around 10 a day which must be too many.

Could you make ice lollies for him yourself with either just water or diluted juice/milk?

Also have you checked that he hasn’t got threadworms as it is very easy for kids to pick up and can make them hungry? I presume he was tested for anything more serious such as Prader-Willi syndrome when he was diagnosed?

Many children with Autism have issues with interoception which basically means they don’t receive the right signals about things going on within their bodies. It can be telling when they are hot or cold, hungry or thirsty and when they have had enough to eat. It’s not as extreme as in Prada Willi Syndrome but can still really have an impact on them. My son has no idea he has had enough to eat until he is really uncomfortable, never knows his body temperature and struggles with signals around toileting.
I would suggest speaking to your gp and they could refer you to a dietician (hopefully one with some knowledge about Autism). I would definately try to get more liquid into him if you possibly can, maybe drinking isn’t a nice sensation for him, or maybe food it just a nicer one. We see a specialist sensory OT who is amazing and really helped us understand so much better. Good luck