Key Points:
- Picky eating in autistic adults can stem from sensory sensitivities, anxiety, and early childhood food experiences.
- Addressing selective eating involves understanding root causes, building tolerance gradually, and using behavior strategies tailored to individual needs.
- ABA therapy can play a supportive role in helping adults with autism overcome mealtime challenges.
Autism and picky eating in adults is a topic that’s often overlooked. While many resources focus on children, adults on the autism spectrum also struggle with selective eating.
According to research, up to 89% of autistic individuals experience feeding challenges, including food selectivity. These patterns can interfere with nutrition, social relationships, and even mental health. Understanding why picky eating persists into adulthood—and what to do about it—is crucial for families, caregivers, and the individuals themselves.
In this article, we’ll go over the different causes of picky eating in adults with autism, how it manifests in everyday life, and offer some treatment options to help.
What Causes Picky Eating in Adults with Autism?
Picky eating in autistic adults is typically caused by sensory sensitivities, past negative food experiences, anxiety, and rigid thinking patterns. These factors can affect how a person perceives taste, smell, texture, or even the look of a food, leading to a restricted diet.
Some adults with autism avoid entire food groups or will only eat food prepared in specific ways. This isn’t about stubbornness. It’s a deeply rooted behavioral pattern often tied to how the nervous system processes sensory input.
How Do Sensory Issues Impact Eating Habits
For many adults on the spectrum, sensory processing differences are at the core of their eating preferences. What might be mildly unpleasant for a neurotypical person can feel overwhelming to someone with autism.
Take, for example, the texture of cooked spinach. While a typical person might dislike it, an autistic adult could experience it as slimy and nauseating, making them gag or panic.
The following are some common sensory triggers that may impact an individual’s eating habits:
Can Routine and Rigidity Play a Role in Autistic Adults Being Picky?
Yes. Autism often involves a preference for sameness and predictability. That includes eating routines. Adults with autism might gravitate toward specific foods that offer familiar textures, tastes, or preparation styles. Because of this, adults with autism might:
1. Eat the Same Food Every Day
Some adults want the exact same cereal—same brand, same flavor, same bowl—every single day. Any change, even a new box design, can lead to total rejection.
2. Reject Favorite Foods If They Look Different
Individuals with autism might love chicken nuggets one day and refuse them the next if they’re cut differently or served on a new plate. For them, consistency in how food looks is key.
3. Need Meals at the Same Time or in a Certain Way
Mealtimes might need to happen at the exact same time each day or follow a specific routine. These predictable patterns help reduce anxiety and make eating feel safe.
4. Avoid Eating Foods That Touch Each Other
Some individuals get upset if foods on their plate are mixed or touching. Separating items can make the whole mealtime feel way more manageable.
This rigidity isn’t just a habit—it’s a coping mechanism. Changes in food appearance, packaging, or placement on a plate can trigger distress. For many, food rituals provide a sense of control in a world that often feels overwhelming.
Are There Psychological or Emotional Causes?
Emotional factors can also influence eating patterns. Adults with autism often experience co-occurring anxiety or past trauma related to food. Some examples include:
1. Avoiding Food After Choking or Vomiting
A scary experience, like choking or throwing up, can lead to long-term fear of certain foods. Even just seeing or smelling that food again might bring back anxiety or refusal.
2. Struggling to Eat Around Others
Eating in front of other people can feel overwhelming due to social anxiety. Worries about being watched or judged can make mealtimes stressful or even impossible in group settings.
3. Refusal of Unfamiliar Foods Due to Fear
Some individuals have a strong fear of trying anything new, especially when it comes to food. Even a small taste of something unfamiliar can feel like too big of a risk.
This emotional layer can complicate feeding therapy. It’s not just about exposure but about building trust, reducing anxiety, and helping the individual feel safe.
The Health Risks of Limited Diets
Selective eating in adulthood isn’t just a lifestyle concern—it can have real health consequences. Over time, it may impact overall well-being and quality of life. It can also make daily routines more challenging and limit social opportunities involving food. Potential risks include:
1. Nutritional Deficiencies
When a diet is very limited, it’s easy to miss out on key nutrients like fiber, protein, or important vitamins. Over time, this can affect energy levels, focus, and overall health.
2. Gastrointestinal Problems
Not getting enough fiber or fluids can lead to tummy troubles like constipation or discomfort. These issues can make eating feel even more unpleasant, creating a tough cycle.
3. Weight Gain or Loss
Depending on what’s being eaten—or not eaten—individuals may gain or lose weight in ways that aren’t healthy. It’s not about eating more or less, but how balanced and nourishing the diet is.
4. Social Isolation
If eating outside the home feels too hard or unpredictable, individuals might avoid birthday parties, school events, or outings with friends. That can lead to feeling left out or disconnected.
5. Mental Health Decline
When every meal feels like a battle, it can take a toll emotionally. Stress, anxiety, or shame around eating can build up and affect confidence and overall mental well-being.
8 Strategies That Help Adults with Autism Expand Their Diet
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But success often starts with understanding the why behind the eating behavior. Once root causes are identified, targeted strategies can help. Working with professionals, such as dietitians or therapists, can also provide valuable support in creating personalized plans that address specific needs.
Some helpful approaches include:
1. Sensory Integration Techniques
Working with occupational therapists can help desensitize challenging textures, smells, or other sensory triggers over time. Gradual exposure helps reduce discomfort and can make trying new foods more manageable.
2. Gradual Food Exposure
A step-by-step approach involves starting with just tolerating a food on the plate, then moving to touch, smell, lick, and eventually taste. This slow process allows individuals to adjust to new foods at their own pace, reducing anxiety.
3. Behavioral Reinforcement
Using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) techniques, positive food interactions are encouraged through rewards or praise. This helps reinforce progress and can motivate continued food acceptance in a supportive way.
4. Food Chaining
Food chaining connects new foods to familiar, preferred ones, such as slowly introducing wheat bread after eating plain white bread. This gentle transition makes new foods feel less intimidating by keeping some elements consistent.
5. Modeling and Mealtime Coaching
Eating together with family or therapists who model calm and positive food interactions can be incredibly helpful. This approach provides individuals with a safe, supportive environment to learn healthier mealtime behaviors.
6. Stress and Anxiety Reduction
Addressing non-food-related stressors, such as overwhelming environments or general anxiety, can reduce food refusal. Once these external pressures are eased, eating can feel less emotionally charged and more manageable.
7. Routine Building with Flexibility
Creating a structured mealtime routine while gradually introducing small changes helps increase tolerance for unpredictability. Over time, this helps individuals become more adaptable and less rigid about food and mealtimes.
8. Professional Support
Dietitians, ABA therapists, or psychologists can work together to provide coordinated care tailored to the individual’s needs. This holistic approach is especially useful when multiple challenges, like sensory sensitivities and behavioral issues, overlap.
7 Foods Most Commonly Refused by Adults with Autism
Patterns of avoidance can vary, but several foods are frequently cited by adults on the spectrum. Commonly avoided foods include those with strong textures, flavors, or smells.
Additionally, foods with unfamiliar or complex ingredients are often less appealing due to their unpredictability or sensory overload. Below are some common examples:
- Vegetables (especially leafy or mushy ones like spinach or zucchini)
- Mixed textures (like soups or casseroles)
- Strong-smelling foods (onions, seafood)
- Chewy meats or stringy proteins
- Spicy or heavily seasoned dishes
- Sauces or condiments (like ketchup or mayonnaise)
- Foods with inconsistent textures (e.g., fruit with skin or seeds)
Understanding these patterns helps caregivers and professionals tailor interventions that work with, not against, an individual’s sensory profile. If you’re looking for simple, delicious meal ideas that cater to sensory preferences and support independence, don’t miss our latest article, “7 Quick & Flavorful Recipes for Autistic Adults to Try Today.” We’ve gathered easy-to-follow recipes that are both nourishing and enjoyable, designed with the unique needs of autistic adults in mind.
When Should You Seek Professional Help?
If picky eating limits an adult’s daily life, it’s time to seek help. In these cases, intervention can offer significant improvements in both nutritional intake and quality of life. Addressing the underlying causes of the behavior can help individuals develop healthier eating patterns and reduce anxiety around food.
Some signs to watch out for include:
- Nutrient deficiencies or frequent illness
- Significant distress at mealtimes
- Social withdrawal related to eating
- Rigid food rituals that interfere with flexibility
- Refusal to eat outside the home
In these cases, intervention from an ABA provider or feeding specialist can make a meaningful difference. Not all therapists specialize in adult feeding issues, so finding a provider with relevant experience is key.
Get the Support You Need with ABA Therapy
Navigating autism and picky eating in adults can feel overwhelming, but you’re not alone. At Steady Steps ABA, we provide ABA therapy in Maryland designed to address complex behavioral needs, including selective eating. Our approach is person-centered, compassionate, and tailored to support individuals in building healthy, sustainable eating habits.
If your loved one is struggling with food rigidity, we can help build a plan that works, with strategies grounded in data and empathy. Whether it’s expanding a limited diet, easing mealtime anxiety, or improving social engagement around food, our team is here to support every step forward.
Contact us today to learn more about how our ABA therapy in Maryland can help your loved one thrive.
