Feeding the Mind, Not Just the Mouth

Eating is a social and communicative activity

With an autistic child, eating can easily become
an activity that is:

    * sensation-dominated, cutting out awareness
      of environment

    * mindless/ unmentalised, preventing
      symbolisation and thinking

    * anti-social, blocking communication with other people

The Autistic Child needs extra Help

through lively, human company from a warm interested adult

    * to make eating into a social and communicative fun occasion,

    * settting a reliable routine with clear boundaries:
      a) a regular place, a friendly atmosphere sitting at a table
      b) regular times: breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner
      c) after-school snack to be an interesting finger-food time
      d) food only when sitting down, and not all the/ any time

    * encouraging ways of eating/ foods that require some effort, especially chewing, or 
      using straw, knife and fork:
      a) avoid mushy foods and those that can be just sucked, especially starchy foods like
          bread, biscuits, bananas, milk, sweets, chocolate, sweet or too much of drinks
      b) avoid bottles/ teats and continuous eating/ grazing



Email: info@reachingautism.org