As an autistic person, I have an extremely complicated relationship with food… 

I absolutely love eating food when I find something my brain likes, but I feel terrible after eating food it doesn’t. It can ruin my entire day. 

This makes trying new foods extremely tricky for me...

I KNOW the only way I’ll discover foods I like is by trying new ones... but I also get extreme anxiety when I think about the likelihood that it’ll be something I don’t like (which is more likely to be the case than not 😅).

So, I have to strategize when and how I try new foods...

1. I need to be mentally prepared for it (someone sticking a fork in front of my face and asking me to try something will spike my anxiety)

2. I need to be in an EXTREMELY good overall mood so I can handle feeling awful if I don’t like the new food.

3. I need to make sure the meals I have around the new one are reliable meals that I know I like (I call these “safe meals”)

4. It’s usually best that the new meal has some components of things I know I like, but if I do all of the above, I am able to handle a completely new type of food/meal.

So, it’s not that I can’t try new foods. In fact, I do it all the time. And the range of foods I enjoy is actually pretty “normal.” (I can find foods I like on most menus. If you went to a restaurant with me, you’d probably have no idea I have any food related issues.)

If you’re a parent of a “picky eater,” I’m curious if reading this helps you understand your kiddo better. 

And if you’re autistic, I’m curious if you have a similar relationship with food. Let me know in the comments. 

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