By Ashley Williams, Ph.D., LABA, BCBA
Senior Clinical Director, BCI
Does your child only eat one brand of chicken nuggets or refuse anything other than a single flavor of yogurt? Do you pack the same lunch for your child, day after day after oh-so-tiring and monotonous day?
With the school year underway, now is the time to take a look at your little one’s eating habits to see what you can do to make mealtime a success. While picky eating is a common problem among all kids, the issue can especially challenge children on the autism spectrum. Here, I share a few strategies that can help. Keep in mind, though, that if your child’s picking eating interferes with their ability to take in enough calories or nutrients, you should reach out to your pediatrician right away.
Set a Goal
As a family, pinpoint what your goal is when addressing picky eating. What’s something specific you want to address?
Do you want your child to waste less? Do you want them to try new foods? Do you want to try more meals and recipes that all family members can enjoy together? Identify and set a specific goal. That way, you can figure out what strategies and steps you need to take to achieve it.
Think About Solutions
Take time to plan and think critically about the goal. For example, if you want to cut down on your child’s snacking, take a step back to consider what it is about snacking that concerns you. Is it that they won’t eat dinner? Or they fill up on foods that lack nutrition? In either case, consider what’s available as a snack. Is there a food you typically offer at dinner that you could offer as a snack? That way, if your child does “fill up” on the snack, that’s OK.
When evaluating your concerns regarding the behavior, be sure to look at a span of time, instead of just one meal or even one day. Give yourself enough time to establish a broader sense of their caloric intake and nutritional needs.
Consider Your Environment
When we think of picky eating, we often focus on the moments in which food is in front of the child. But many factors that influence behavior actually start before this.
Preparation and activity before a meal have a huge impact on the likelihood of eating, including the quantity and variety of food your child eats. Think carefully about the environment you’ve set up for meals and snacks at home. Variables include where your child sits, how you present the food, how much food you present, and more.
Regarding the physical setup, have your child sit at a table where they can focus on eating as the primary activity. Are there distractions?
While allowing screen time during snacks and meals may help your child stay seated, screen time can also detract from their attention to eating and to their own internal cues. These cues are important for your child to notice as they explore new foods and how much food to eat.
Aim to minimize distractions. Doing so will help you notice what scenarios lead to more success at mealtime.
Give Your Child Choices
Are you planning to have your child participate in preparing the food or choosing an aspect of the meal? Allowing your child to participate in the preparation and decision-making that go into the snack or meal can help increase motivation to eat the meal.
Perhaps your child can get out ingredients for the meal or hold the bowl while you stir. Allow your child to make small decisions along the way that build buy-in, without compromising the boundaries that you’ve identified for the meal.
For example, you may have decided that the meal will include some fruit at dinner (a food type that is often involved in picky eating). Allow your child some choice in getting to this outcome by letting them know, “We’re going to have chicken drumsticks with a small bit of fruit. Do you want blueberries or watermelon as the fruit?”
This provides boundaries, while still giving your child an opportunity to choose. It’s likely that having chosen blueberries, for example, will lead to a greater likelihood of eating them.
Let Them Serve Themselves
Another way of promoting choice and control is by allowing your child to serve themselves. Your child may not be ready to prepare the meal from start to finish, but they may be able to sprinkle toppings or help squirt dipping sauce on to their plate.
By allowing your child to make small choices throughout the preparation of the meal, you’re deciding what is served (such as tacos), with room for your child’s opinion and preferences to be considered.
Identify Sensory Issues
Some aspects of preparing and presenting food can tell us more about food selectivity and picky eating, and can provide us with more information for the future. In fact, you may discover that your child outright refuses certain foods or entire food categories.
Take a closer look at which foods are left on the plate or pushed away. Try to identify certain sensory and texture properties of foods that are often refused, such as squishy or tough foods.
As adults, we often forget that certain foods, particularly produce, don’t actually taste the same each time we eat them. A tomato purchased at peak ripeness in-season may taste very different from a similar-looking tomato past its prime off-season. For children, this may lead to refusal, often without a corresponding explanation as to why the food was refused. In the future, this could lead to even more refusal.
Of course, there’s not much we can do to minimize variability in produce, but this knowledge can help us understand some of the shifts in preference. And, just as our own food preferences change over time, so do our children’s. We may never know why hot dogs moved from the favorite list to the repulsive list. But a strategic approach to food goals that involves stopping and observing over a period of time, while limiting distractions and making choice part of your child’s eating routine, can make a real difference—and over time, help make family meals more enjoyable for everyone.
Looking for more tips on raising kids with autism? Dr. Temple Grandin shares some of what worked for her as a child in her latest conversation with us on All Autism Talk. Listen to the podcast.
Ashley Williams, Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa Kliniki ya BCBA, anaelezea jinsi mtoto wake anavyoweza kuepuka kula bidhaa moja ya kuku au kula kitu kingine chochote isipokuwa ladha moja ya mboga. Je, unamletea mtoto wako chakula cha mchana siku baada ya siku, siku baada ya siku yenye kuchosha na yenye kuchosha? Kwa kuwa mwaka wa shule unaanza, sasa ni wakati wa kuchunguza tabia za chakula za mtoto wako na kuona jinsi unavyoweza kufanya hivyo. Ingawa kula kwa njia ya kuchagua ni tatizo la kawaida miongoni mwa watoto wote, tatizo hilo laweza kuwa tatizo hasa kwa watoto walio na ugonjwa wa akili. Hapa, ninashiriki mikakati michache ambayo inaweza kusaidia. Hata hivyo, kumbuka kwamba ikiwa chakula ambacho mtoto wako anakula kinazuia uwezo wake wa kupata kalori au virutubisho vya kutosha, unapaswa kumtafuta daktari wako wa watoto mara moja. Weka Lengo: Kama familia, tazama kwa makini lengo lako la kutaka kula vyakula vyenye kupendeza. Ni jambo gani hususa unalotaka kuzungumzia? Je, unataka mtoto wako apoteze pesa kidogo? Je, unataka wajaribu vyakula vipya? Je, ungependa kujaribu vyakula na mapishi zaidi ambayo washiriki wote wa familia wanaweza kufurahia pamoja? Tambua na uweke mradi hususa. Kwa njia hii, unaweza kujua ni mikakati gani na hatua gani unahitaji kuchukua ili kuifanikisha. Fikiria Suluhisho Chukua wakati wa kupanga na kufikiri kwa uzito kuhusu mradi huo. Kwa mfano, ikiwa unataka kupunguza chakula cha mchana cha mtoto wako, chukua hatua nyuma na kufikiria ni nini kinachokufanya uogope. Je, ni kwamba hawataki kula chakula cha jioni? Au wanakula vyakula visivyo na lishe? Katika visa vyote viwili, fikiria kile kinachopatikana kama vitafunio. Je, kuna chakula ambacho kwa kawaida unatoa wakati wa chakula cha jioni ambacho ungeweza kutoa kama vitafunio? Kwa njia hiyo, ikiwa mtoto wako <unk>hujaza<unk> kwenye vitafunio, hiyo ni sawa. Wakati wa kutathmini wasiwasi wako kuhusu tabia, hakikisha kuangalia muda, badala ya chakula kimoja tu au hata siku moja. Jipe muda wa kutosha kuamua kiasi cha kalori na mahitaji ya chakula. "Kama unafikiria ""kuchagua chakula,"" mara nyingi unazingatia wakati ambapo chakula kiko mbele ya mtoto." Lakini mambo mengi yanayoathiri tabia huanza kabla ya hapo. Maandalizi na shughuli kabla ya chakula zina athari kubwa kwa uwezekano wa kula, ikiwa ni pamoja na kiasi na aina ya chakula mtoto wako anakula. Fikiria kwa uangalifu kuhusu mazingira umeanzisha kwa ajili ya chakula na vitafunio nyumbani. Vitu vinavyoweza kubadilika ni mahali ambapo mtoto wako anaketi, jinsi unavyotoa chakula, kiasi cha chakula unachotoa, na kadhalika. Kwa mfano, kama mtoto wako anafanya kazi ya mwili, unaweza kumfanya aketi kwenye meza ambayo inaweza kumfanya akubali chakula kuwa kazi yake ya msingi. Je, kuna vitu vinavyoweza kukengeusha fikira? Wakati wa kutumia wakati wa skrini wakati wa vitafunio na chakula cha jioni inaweza kumsaidia mtoto wako kukaa, wakati wa skrini unaweza pia kuondoa umakini wake kwa kula na kwa ishara zao za ndani. Ni muhimu kwa mtoto wako kutambua ishara hizi wakati anapochunguza vyakula vipya na kiasi cha chakula cha kula. Jaribu kupunguza mambo yanayoweza kukengeusha fikira. Kufanya hivyo kutakusaidia kuona hali zinazoongoza kwenye mafanikio zaidi wakati wa chakula. Mpe mtoto wako chaguo: Je, una mpango wa kumfanya mtoto wako ashiriki katika kutayarisha chakula au kuchagua sehemu ya chakula? Kumruhusu mtoto wako kushiriki katika maandalizi na maamuzi yanayohusiana na vitafunio au chakula cha mchana kunaweza kusaidia kuongeza motisha ya kula chakula. Labda mtoto wako anaweza kupata viungo vya chakula au kushikilia bakuli wakati unapochanganya. Mruhusu mtoto wako kufanya maamuzi madogo njiani ambayo hujenga ununuzi, bila kuhatarisha mipaka ambayo umebaini kwa chakula. Kwa mfano, unaweza kuwa umepanga kula matunda wakati wa chakula cha jioni (laana ya kula matunda ambayo mara nyingi huchangia kula vyakula vyenye kupendeza). Mruhusu mtoto wako uchaguzi fulani katika kupata matokeo haya kwa kuwaambia, "Tutapata vijiti vya kuku na kidogo cha matunda". Je, unataka blueberries au watermelon kama matunda? <unk> Hii hutoa mipaka, wakati bado kutoa mtoto wako nafasi ya kuchagua. Inawezekana kwamba kuwa umechagua blueberries, kwa mfano, itasababisha uwezekano mkubwa wa kula yao. Njia nyingine ya kukuza chaguo na udhibiti ni kwa kuruhusu mtoto wako kujitolea. Ikiwa mtoto wako hajaanza kutayarisha chakula kutoka mwanzo hadi mwisho, unaweza kumpa mchuzi au kumsaidia kuingiza mchuzi kwenye sahani yake. Kwa kuruhusu mtoto wako kufanya uchaguzi mdogo wakati wa kutayarisha chakula, unaamua nini hutolewa (kama vile tacos), na nafasi kwa maoni ya mtoto wako na mapendekezo ya kuzingatiwa. Kujua mambo ya kuhisi: Baadhi ya mambo ya kutayarisha na kuwasilisha chakula inaweza kutuambia zaidi kuhusu kuchagua chakula na picky kula, na inaweza kutupa habari zaidi kwa ajili ya siku zijazo. Kwa kweli, huenda ukagundua kwamba mtoto wako anakataa kabisa vyakula fulani au vikundi vyote vya vyakula. Angalia kwa makini ni vyakula gani vinavyobaki kwenye sahani au vinavyosukumwa mbali. Jaribu kutambua sifa fulani za hisia na muundo wa vyakula ambavyo mara nyingi hukataliwa, kama vile vyakula vyenye unene au vyenye nguvu. Tukiwa watu wazima, mara nyingi tunasahau kwamba vyakula fulani, hasa mazao, kwa kweli havi ladha sawa kila wakati tunapokula. Nyanya inayonunuliwa wakati wa ukomavu wa juu katika msimu inaweza kuwa na ladha tofauti sana na nyanya inayoonekana sawa baada ya msimu wake bora. Kwa watoto, hii inaweza kusababisha kukataa, mara nyingi bila ufafanuzi unaolingana kwa nini chakula kilikataliwa. Katika wakati ujao, hilo laweza kusababisha kukataa zaidi. Bila shaka, hakuna mengi tunaweza kufanya ili kupunguza kutofautiana katika kuzalisha, lakini maarifa haya inaweza kutusaidia kuelewa baadhi ya mabadiliko katika upendeleo. Na, kama vile upendeleo wetu wa chakula hubadilika kwa muda, ndivyo unavyofanya watoto wetu. Huenda tusijue kamwe ni kwa nini mbwa-mwitu walihama kutoka kwenye orodha ya vyakula vilivyopendwa hadi kwenye orodha ya vyakula vilivyokataliwa. Lakini mbinu ya mkakati kwa malengo ya chakula ambayo inajumuisha kuacha na kuchunguza kwa muda, wakati wa kupunguza distractions na kufanya uchaguzi sehemu ya mtoto wako kula utaratibu, inaweza kufanya tofauti halisi na kwa muda, kusaidia kufanya chakula cha familia zaidi ya kufurahisha kwa kila mtu. Unatafuta vidokezo zaidi juu ya kulea watoto wenye ugonjwa wa akili? Dr. Temple Grandin anashiriki baadhi ya kile kilichomsaidia kama mtoto katika mazungumzo yake ya hivi karibuni na sisi kwenye Mazungumzo yote ya Autism. Sikiliza podcast.