The Fright with Food

 Let’s talk about food and autism. One of my biggest pet peeves is a parent of a mainstream child comparing their child to a child with autism. My favorite is, Johnny’s a picky eater also. No, no, Susan it’s not about being a picky eater. Does little Johnny vomit when wanting to try new foods? Is little Johnny unable to finish foods he loves the taste of because he’s just vomit half of it all over, because of the texture or smell? I believe the answer is, no. Children with autism aren’t picky. They seriously can not handle many textures or smell of certain foods, even some of their favorite foods. It’s not about a parent putting a meal on the table, and the autistic child looking at it and not liking the look of the meal. It’s not because the autistic child would much rather want to eat their favorite snack, than breakfast, lunch or dinner that’s put on their plate. My oldest who is 24 years old and autistic, just would refuse to eat many veggies and fruits. He would eat corn and potatoes. My husband and I were new to the whole autism spectrum disorder, and very uneducated. I remember getting upset at my oldest and just thinking he was being picky or just didn’t want to eat the veggies and fruits, because they were considered healthy foods. My husband and I would do the whole, two bites of your veggies, then you can be finished with your dinner. We did this for years. It got to a point where he would only want the broccoli stems on his plate. When I look back on those years and remember the look of disgust on his face, because he just couldn’t handle the feel of the texture. I feel absolutely shameful as a parent to have forced my autistic child to eat something he just could not handle eating. It took having a second child with autism spectrum disorder to learn, what we failed to know 10 years ago. As my oldest was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age 11 years old. My youngest is 3 years old, and was just diagnosed Sept. 9th 2020. My husband and I had a hunch that our youngest was autistic when he was a few months old. My youngest had a few of the behaviors the oldest had. I see a lot more of the autistic behaviors in my youngest, then what I saw in my oldest. So many more behaviors that it’s quite overwhelming to me as a parent and caretaker. My oldest had sensory issues due to being autistic to some sounds, objects, and foods. Nothing compared to my youngest. My youngest will actually gag and then vomit at certain textures of foods he tries, and even foods he loves the taste of. So, please Susan, don’t compare your non autistic little Johnny to that of an autistic child. It’s unsettling and disheartening to a parent who’s child is autistic.