In the UK, school dinners don’t have the best reputation! Perhaps, your daughter is like I was: an adventurous food lover who sprinted to the dining hall the moment the bell rang or perhaps, food is more difficult (remember, every autistic girl is different!) If an autistic girl is the latter, lunchtime can be the most daunting part of her day!
This is because many autistic people struggle with food aversions, a sensory difficulty that means they can be sensitive to certain smells, tastes or textures. The autistic diet is often referred to as a ‘beige diet’ because there’s usually very little colour or variety.
A lot of autistic individuals will stick to their ‘safe foods’, a small selection of foods that they know they like, avoiding any new meals that might cause adverse reactions. It’s possible for autistic people to venture out of their safe foods but this needs to be done in a safe environment and in their own time. If it’s forced, it could cause unnecessary trauma and make the food aversions worse!
There’s also the issue of dietary requirements. Studies have shown that autistic people are much more likely to suffer from food intolerances and poor gut health. As you can imagine, this can be an annoying addition to an already limited diet!
If that wasn’t enough, as they get older, autistic girls are often at higher risk of developing eating disorders. According to Autistica, 20-35% of adults with anorexia are autistic or have elevated autistic traits and, despite its rarity, about 44% of ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder) cases were in children and young people who were diagnosed as autistic.
There are many times and places to address these disorders however, a crowded school canteen probably isn’t one of them which begs the question, how should lunchtime be approached for autistic girls?
As always, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer but this is precisely why a packed lunch is likely the safest bet for an autistic student. This way, she knows exactly what she will be having for lunch. The meals will be predictable and familiar and parents and guardians can provide the most nutritious option within the restrictions. Again, school lunchtimes probably aren’t the ideal time to surprise her with something new. A busy canteen can be overwhelming as it is and you don’t want her to be distracted all morning, worried about how she’s going to approach the tuna sandwich in her lunchbox!
Of course, a packed lunch isn’t always possible for busy parents on a tight budget! If this is the case, there are still many ways you can make lunchtimes more manageable:
Request a menu. School meals may be a surprise for the students but dinner ladies and gents will know what’s on the menu weeks or even months in advance. Requesting a copy of this menu will give some much-needed time for mental preparation and take away the anxiety that comes with the unknown.
Whether you agree with it or not, many schools have a rule that students must finish their plate, or a good portion of their plate, before they can leave the table. As previously mentioned, autistic girls may have aversions to some of the items on their plate and a busy school canteen, coupled with the pressure of having to eat it will only enhance the negative associations with food and could worsen the aversions.
If an autistic girl struggles with food, make sure that any teachers who are monitoring lunchtime are aware of this and know the best way to respond to her overwhelm. She may find it beneficial to eat her lunch in a separate room, away from all the added pressure. Perhaps a quiet room, where the focus is entirely on food is too intense of an environment in which case, putting on a video might ease some of this pressure.
As always, every autistic girl is different and, where possible, you should take her lead when it comes to finding reasonable adjustments that work for everyone!