Autism Interview #155: Grace Kidd on “Picky” Eating, the School Environment, and Listening to Your Autistic Children

Grace is a late-diagnosed blogger and advocate for autistic children and adults. Her blog, Autistic Empath offers a variety of insights on spectrum life, including myths and misconceptions, coping strategies, what it’s like to live in an NT world, Autistic adulthood, advocacy, and practical daily living tips. This week she shared some of her experiences growing up undiagnosed and her advocacy work that helps NT parents better understand their neurodiverse children.

Feeding Aversion Part 2: Feeding Strategies for Children with Oral Sensory Issues

feeding strategies, chocolate sandwich

Jalapeño Pringles, chocolate chips, and Pediasure. This was my son’s breakfast, lunch and dinner for weeks at a time. Every couple weeks it might change to one specific type of dry cereal and chocolate or saltine crackers. And that was it. Nothing else. As I detailed in my previous post, My son had a complicated medical history that led up to severe oral aversion and oral sensory difficulties. But we have seen significant progress since his first solid feeding attempts.

This post contains a variety of different feeding strategies that might help children with oral sensory issues. I am not a doctor or therapist, and this shouldn’t replace medical advice. I am writing based on anecdotal experiences I’ve had from the past nine years of working with my son and my own personal research. Some of these topics are specific feeding strategies for different ways to help your child interact with food. Other suggestions illustrate how to communicate a positive attitude during meals. I hope some of this information will help you to safely encourage your picky eater to gain more confidence in eating skills.

Understanding Feeding Aversion Part 1: One Family’s Story

feeding aversion, jalapeno chips

It’s a gross understatement to say my son is a picky eater. The eating progress I could brag about would horrify the typical parent. I am grateful for each of his successes and his potential to continue improving. Many individuals on the autism spectrum have feeding challenges; however, they differ in their specific difficulties and needs. This is my son’s story and a summary of what I want other parents to know about their own feeding journey.