Question for picky eaters
My son is an extremely picky eater. I can get him to try things, but he always says he doesn't like it and defaults to the 10 things on his list. I know this is typical for a lot of people on the spectrum and I know some of it is sensory, but my son doesn't have a lot of sensory issues so I'm looking for some more insight. It may be some of that, but I think it's more.
For those of you who are, or were like this as a child can you share why? For you, is it taste? texture? novelty? some of everything?
Something else entirely?
Thanks Everyone!
fiddlerpianist
Veteran

Joined: 30 Apr 2009
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,821
Location: The Autistic Hinterlands
For those of you who are, or were like this as a child can you share why? For you, is it taste? texture? novelty? some of everything?
I kept my food separate and ate each item in its entirety before moving onto the next. I don't really know why I did this. It's hard to take an adult mind and remember the reasons behind why we did things as children, but I suspect it was that I didn't like transitioning back and forth between foods. The moment where I tasted both the previous food and the new food together wasn't something I particularly enjoyed. I think for this reason, I didn't like foods mixed up together (such as in a casserole). I'm much better about this now, but I suspect it's because I've learned to atomize more dishes together in my head (instead of tasting the individual components) through life experience. It also appears that I had a sharp dropoff of all my sensory issues in adolescence.
Sometimes I still will eat one food in its entirety before moving onto the next. I suspect that my tastes don't "wear out" in the same way as others, so instead of getting tired of a particular dish, I crave more of it.
I'm sure that others are probably more qualified to answer this than I am.
_________________
"That leap of logic should have broken his legs." - Janissy
I was an extremely picky eater as a child and I still am to this day, but to a much lesser degree. I can't really explain it. All I know is that I tend to prefer simpler foods. I can force myself to eat a slice of pizza with loads of toppings on it but I'll never enjoy it as much as a plain cheese slice. I just can't enjoy the taste of the cheese and sauce when all the toppings are there. The toppings are a distraction, they don't add anything for me. I don't understand why people feel the need to make food so complex.
dossa
Veteran

Joined: 24 Aug 2009
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,590
Location: The right side of my couch...
I am always eating the same things. I have done this since I was small. My mom would sometimes get mad at me because all I would eat for a month was cereal, then all I would eat was yogurt, then all would eat was spaghetti... then I would go back to cereal. She said to me once, "Well at least you don't crave junk food." She stopped being so concerned about it once she decided it was better than me eating jawbreakers or whatnot like other kids did. I still do that but with different foods now. My kids will tell you there are only about ten things I will ever make for dinner. And I make those ten things for their benefit. I would be fine eating nothing more than friend onion and garlic sandwiches right now. Food and I have an odd relationship though. There are days when I hate it. There are days when I love it. Mostly I just wish they would make a pill I could take in the morning so I would not have to deal with it or worry that my lack of variety is not allowing me to get all of the nutrients or what have you that I ought to be getting. But for me, it is less of a sensory thing and more of a simple craving thing. I just want what I want and to try to force myself to eat something else... I either will not eat at all or I will try and want to throw up. I do not know why I am like this. Sorry, but I guess I am not much help on this one.
_________________
"...don't ask me why it's just the nature of my groove..."
When I was a kid, I didn't like trying new foods. My family always used to get me to try food I've never tried before and it frustrated them when I didn't want to. So as I got older, I figured I'd try new foods just for the heck of it. I guess the reason I didn't want to try new food is that I was afraid I wouldn't like the taste or the texture of it, then I would be miserable. Even today, at 29 years old, I'm still afraid to try new foods, especially if it looks gross or if someone told me what it actually is. I especially hate it when I'm pressured into trying something new, so I sometimes do it just to shut people up. I know that sounds mean, but that's how I feel about it. Actually, there are foods that I like now that I never liked as a kid. So I guess trying new foods isn't all that bad like I used to think it was. Maybe I'm gradually growing out of it.
<--- 'Nother picky eater here. I also had the habit of eating 1 thing at a time, and keeping my food separate on my plate. But being picky when it came to my stepdad didn't work out to my favor very often. I had to eat alot of stuff I really didn't like. I still don't understand why people get upset when you don't eat something because you don't like the taste. So many times I'd get exasperated looks, or sighs or even outspoken disapproval of "Damn picky eater, why can't you just eat it like everyone else?" Hmm, let's see, how about because I'm NOT like everyone else, that click? I just don't get it. I can be allowed to not like football and just get teased about it, but I don't like onions or mushrooms or peppers or spicy food and I get disgusted looks.
As for your more original question, for me it was all taste. Texture or smell never really was too much of an issue except for oysters. The things look incredibly nasty to me, even though I haven't actually tried one. Actually, now that I think about it, there were/are several things I won't touch because of how they look. Can't recall that with smell or touch though I think.
_________________
I am Jon Stewart with some Colbert cynicism, Thomas Edison's curiousity, wrapped around a hardcore gamer sprinkled very liberally with Deadpool, and finished off with an almost Poison Ivy-esque love/hate relationship with humanity flourish.
Oh man, I can relate to that

I had a fairly narrow diet as a kid - mashed potatoes, chips, peas, beans, sweetcorn, bananas, cereal, milk, toast, jelly, sausages, fishfingers, pasta and tomato sauce.... that was about it. The thing that all of these had in common were that they were soft to eat. I didn't like biting through vegetables or fruit, it was gross. I was seriously nervous about trying anything new, in case it was totally disgusting, so it was very hard to persuade me to try something different.
Oh and also.... I've said it before, and I'll say it again.... PEANUT BUTTER

I don't know if this work for your son but my brother who isn't on the autism spectrum was also a picky eater. He refused to eat almost everything my mom make despite that he didn't even try it. He would look at it and decide he doesn't like it. I have considered it could have been the smell (he had very sensitive smell) and he didn't like it so he decided he wouldn't like the food. So my mom always had to give him something else he would eat and even my baby sitter tried giving him a solution to eat his food. Hold your nose close as you eat but he refused but that was how I started eating when my mom make me east food I didn't like.
So my mom was talking to another parent one day and she was telling her how her kid was a picky eater so she started buying him his own food to have for every dinner so every time she cooked something, she have her kid make himself his own food. But he got tired of having the same thing everyday so he started eating what mom made. So my mom tried that with my brother and he got tired of having corn dogs, he started eating what my mom would make. Now he was no longer a picky eater.
i am a very picky eater.. for me a lot of it seems to be a reluctance to try new things.. aware, as i am, that i may well like them.. as a child i hated trying new things but had "family meals" & so had to eat what was served or nothing.. & that old story "no pudding 'til you eat your dinner"..
also i have an issue with meat, that is, if i discover a "chewy" piece, or some unpleasant texture, i generally gag & can't continue eating..
fudo
i also felt the need to keep different food items separate and eat them in a specific order when i was younger. i still do this often though not as often when it's my cooking. then again, my cooking generally consists of frying chicken in oil and several different vinegars, pasta-roni, and corn, peas, or broccoli (all heavily spiced with garlic) so it might just be that i love garlic.
when i was growing up i tried very much to stay away from mixed dishes. by that, i mean dishes that had more than one or possibly two flavors that just didn't blend for me. if you gave me a stew consisting of beef, potatoes, carrots, and peas, i would (and still often do) eat all the peas first (because peas are great by themselves but i don't like them in stew) then the carrots. the meat and potatoes i would try and then decide the order, eating the less pleasurable first. if you put celery in it i'd eat it first and be grumpy by the end of the dish without really understanding why.
with candy like jellybeans, m&ms, or skittles i try to eat all of one color at a time, saving my favorite for last. i did this with the m&ms too even though i've known since i was a toddler that they all taste the same.
sometimes it's about the soothing feeling i get by planning my attack (i'm sure that reads ridiculous but i can't really explain it better). if i try to take on the whole group of flavors at once i'll lose. i'll open a pack of skittles and 20 minutes later i'll realize that i've gouged off a scar from picking at it and my teeth hurt from clenching. eat them in order and i feel just fine.
i read somewhere that individuals perceive flavors differently and while i can't find the article i read, here's another one that seems to explain it.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/a ... 1_nsn.html
so next time you're frustrated at your son's picky pallet, just remember that it could be as simple as him tasting something far less pleasant than you or as complicated as him feeling anxiety over the need to experience two flavors separately that the dish forces on him simultaneously.
i don't recommend forcing him to eat outside of his comfort zone. that always stressed me out. maybe try letting him experience a wide variety of foods you yourself would generally find unappetizing and see if his pallet opens up? i love olives of many varieties that many twist their face at. i love black liquorish. sometimes i like to chew on a small bit of raw garlic (it's the sensation it gives me in my jaw). i love asparagus, broccoli, spinach, and brussle sprouts. i also love pizza with anchovies.
growing up i was told i was a picky eater by people who didn't like any of those things. as i discovered more and more foods that i liked, i realized that it wasn't that i was a picky eater. it's that these people and myself liked different things. then i read about individual differences in how we experience flavors and it really made sense.
now i find every excuse to try foods that other people say they don't like. shopping in mexican, asian, and middle eastern markets makes for interesting experiments that satisfy me whether they succeed or not. (plus shopkeepers that speak little to no english don't bother me while i'm looking up and down isles like people in american grocery store chains do. it's nice to be able to shop without wearing headphones.)
i hope if you took the time to read all that it helps somewhat.
RampionRampage
Veteran

Joined: 3 Feb 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 743
Location: Greater Philly Area, PA
For those of you who are, or were like this as a child can you share why? For you, is it taste? texture? novelty? some of everything?
Something else entirely?
Thanks Everyone!
He might not have 'many sensory issues' but these could certainly be sensory-related.
As he gets older, it might get easier for him to 'ignore' compulsions related to food. I indulge in mine at home, but force myself to be more 'normal' when I'm out with people I don't know.
Pick off pizza toppings one by one before eating. Love love love sectional plates - hate food running together. I wouldn't eat meat for /years/ and would secretly chuck it in the trash when no one was looking. Hate PB melted into bread - still won't touch that. Eat all of one thing at a time before eating something else.
Can't deal with mushrooms, calamari, etc - that specific kind of chewyness just makes me gag.
There are probably others.
I know my sister couldn't have anyone touch her foods so her mom had to touch food with napkins.
I think this is where ASD looks like OCD, actually.
_________________
As of 2-06-08 --- Axis I: Asperger's Disorder | Axis III: Hearing Impaired
My store: http://www.etsy.com/rampionrampage
queenserenity22
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 26 Jan 2007
Age: 40
Gender: Female
Posts: 52
Location: South Holland, Illnois
I'm pickey about the smell and the taste of food like I don't like the smell of mayonaise or miracle whip and there for have no desire to eat either one a sandwich but I'll eat mayo if its in tuna salad, or if its used in my mom's potato salad but I find it vomit inducing on a sandwich because there is no way to hide the flavor of the mayo on a sandwich. I don't like milk either, I will eat yogurt, cheese and even use milk in my cereal but I can't bring myself to drink just the milk(flavored milk ie:chocolate or strawberry etc. are just as gross). I don't eat salad dressings or pasta sauces that are cream based, the smell of ranch salad dressing makes me want to hurl; but I do enjoy caesar salad dressing ( go figure). I will become homicidal if there is sour cream used in anything other than cleverly hidden in homemade cake frosting. I also have a tendency to not mix my food and would rather eat food items on my plate one at a time , usually saving the best food items for last. I can be kind of adventurous with food sometimes but will definitaly draw the line with certain items. I absolutely love food that is sweet and creamy like chocolate pudding, cream pies and ice cream. I absolutely hate those savory cream based dips used for vegetable party trays. yuck. And don't ever put onions on my pizza I'm liable to snap if that happens ( usually a problem in my house when we get pizza out because my father ( also on the spectrum as well) loves onions on pizza, gag.
I have problems with the texture of many foods. Most meats, slimy things, oily things, gelatinous things, pulpy things, plasticky things and some other textures feel disgusting or like something that is not edible or at least shouldn't be eaten. Combinations of textures that don't seem like they belong together are also bad. Macadamia nuts, chick peas, bell peppers and some other foods have textures that seem like I should not be eating them. Uncrushed nuts in other dishes are also annoying.
The smell or taste of foods is also a major problem. Eggs are very bad. When cooking, the smell of many types of grocery store food, like many frozen dinners and especially diet foods, smell like chemicals and not like edible food. If something smells like chemicals I will not eat it.
I am much more likely to eat or at least try foods having an uniform or close to uniform texture than I am to having foods with different textures.
I also don't like the taste of most sweet things, like most candy or most chocolate.
And certain tastes are so incredibly overpowering that they ruin the taste of anything they're added to. These tastes include things like peppermint, Splenda, and alcohol.
Wow, it could be a million things about food that turns him off. I have heard from many different sources not to force him and I haven't thus far, yet the feeding clinic people said that's the only way to do it or he will never eat how he should eat. (I opted not to do that to him, there has to be a better way)
I am not so much concerned about his vitamin intake and I don't have a problem giving him his own dinner. He gets liquid vitamins and he LOVES Ensure, so he gets his minerals there, and he loves milk, but he eats practically no fiber and I have to force fruit down his throat (even though he likes that, I think he's just sick of it) or else he gets really constipated and benefiber and all of that other stuff the doctor tells me to use doesn't work, it just makes him hurt...so we fight over fruit. I wish juice helped him, but all it does is put holes in his teeth. I know he likes soft food (except for ginger snaps which are hard as a rock) but that's the only thing I know for sure.
I have a couple of ideas, thank you all so much! Maybe talking about what you all don't like will help him explain to me what is hard for him.
AND...I don't mind long posts I read them all, especially the long ones. Keep 'em comin!
Similar Topics | |
---|---|
Question for NTs |
15 Jun 2025, 10:40 am |
Health Question
in Bipolar, Tourettes, Schizophrenia, and other Psychological Conditions |
21 Apr 2025, 9:44 pm |
Possibly a daft question |
28 Jun 2025, 12:07 pm |
Braces Question: is this worth fixing? |
15 May 2025, 12:47 am |