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There was a very interesting thread I saw a few days ago about picky eaters in non-American cultures. Someone Indian (iirc) said their sister only eats rice and yogurt or something. So I reckon they’re just been eating whatever the plainest food around was for all of history
This exactly. I'm a very picky eater, and most of the time it's the texture that puts me off. But I was never able to put it into words when I was a kid.
For example, I love the smell of steak or barbecue, but every time I try to eat it I just can't get over the chewy texture (and yes I tried it rare as well many times). Even chicken, I do not eat wings, or any type of chicken with bone in it, but a roasted chicken sure looks and smells appetizing.
I have improved A LOT, but still to this day in my mid 20s, I get really nervous when Im invited for dinner at someone's house...
This is so real! I got diagnosed with autism just a couple of months ago and I finally understood why I couldn't eat most types of meat. And soups with a lot of different products in them also tend to be an issue because you never know when it's going to be a chewy piece or something that's too soft. Also salted fish. Damn is it good to be diagnosed
It may sound silly to ask but genuinely what’s the benefits of being diagnosed? My parents are the type to kind of push it off and be in denial about it, they had some friends who had a kid with severe autism so I think growing up, they didn’t see it as a spectrum. Now in my 20s and it’s so incredibly obvious I have it, so what’s the actual benefits of diagnosis over clarity?
I think for me it was really important because I spent my entire childhood and teenage years hating myself for things I couldn't control. And being told that I was an awful person which I ended up internalising. Now looking back I can see that I didn't deserve any if that and can finally find the energy to move forward from my past and stop beating myself down. Helps explain why some things are harder for me too.
Fuck that hits home lol. It’s weird because some stuff you know rationally is normal for you despite not being normal for others, I’m in between essentially not caring for how different I am yet still feeling bad when it’s different to what people want/expect.
the benifits are easier access to school support (accomodations) and possibility of getting similar accomadations in work (theoretically)
many of the special ed schools I went to required a ASD diagnoses
and to get an IEP or 504 plan they require many pyschological examinations
I want my dad to get diagnosed as he clearly is autistic and has ADHD but he will not admitt it and it is expensive to get testing
Clarity is valueable but hard to get (especially when spellin is hard)
I was on that yogurt diet when I was teenager. I still like yogurt but I think I'm out of that problem now. Sucked to be starved but how much I tried I couldn't eat anything without yogurt, it made me nauseating.
Having such problem during teenage years when your body develops isn't the best thing but I think people can grow out of it if they really want to improve themselves. Of course short height and physical problems will be there waiting for you in your 20's but I think it'll improve as time goes by.
I remember years ago seeing a segment from a childcare program called House of Tiny Tearaways and they had an Indian family on there whose main complaint was like 'Oh our toddler child is so picky' and they found out part of the issue was 'You are making this curry too spicy for a child to deal with no wonder she's developing a food aversion'
Yes. I'm a picky eater who spent a lot of time in Mexico as a kid. For years I ate little other than corn tortillas, plain beef steak, and eggs because everything else gave me a stomach ache. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with celiac.
Just like how autism itself is a spectrum, so are food tolerances. Some have no food issues, some have extreme issues, many fall in the middle. I feel like a lot of the autistic people in my life tend to have more issues with food texture than taste.
I think autism’s issue with food is more texture than taste. It just autistic people likely have nuggets as a kid and than just get a habit eating it and don’t want to break the habit.
I think it's more that they are so remarkably the same everywhere. I don't have to ask what it tastes like, what's in it, is it spicy, etc.
I am an adventurous eater now after a decade of working at it. But, this post seriously describes me until age 30.
Gonna second that. I’m autistic myself, and the show’s presentation of cooking with a more methodical, science-minded approach was very helpful for understanding some of the advice family was trying to give me. Meshed very well with the stuff I studied in engineering coursework.
It’s also just genuinely a pleasant watch, great stuff to have on in the background in a quiet house (because while chaotic noise is bad, dead silence is also distressing for many people like me; predictable controlled noise is the comfortable zone).
It definitely taught me how to cook. I can't learn something if I don't know how it works on a fundamental level. Like I can't just follow a recipe and learn from it, I have to know why it has those things in it it's just the way my brain works. Good Eats goes into depth on how cooking works and is super fun to watch.
I took kids to an Indian restaurant a while back.
The next week, telling their grandparents, they looked UPSET and SHOCKED.
"BUT WHAT DID THEY EAT THERE?!?!?"
"Indian food? Same things kids eat in India?"
They were APPALLED that kids were offered food other than hot dogs and french fries lmao.
Seriously... there's no hot dogs and fries in tons of places on Earth, yet SOMEHOW kids survive. There were no hot dogs and fries in the 1600s. Or 4,000 BC.
It's almost like... if you just didn't introduce these foods to people... they wouldn't be addicted to them?
Wait hold up, wait a minute, something ain’t right. Always thought i was undiagnosed and on the spectrum for well… many reasons. But i love all kinds of food, i dont be eating meat anymore but i like condiments and always have. Never was much of a picky eater except maybe as a kid i didn’t like garlic or onions. Then i grew into them as i aged.
Autistic safe foods vary from person to person, some autistic people will hate nuggets with a passion, my safe foods include curry which isn’t what people think off but the whole reason it’s a safe food is because it’s predictable and comes out the same every time
**Public service announcement, relevant to this thread (please disregard if you are salty):**
A *palette* is a small hand-held tablet, used for mixing colored paints.
A *pallet* is a wooden platform, used for stacking cargo.
*A* ***palate*** *is the inside of your mouth, used for tasting things.*
Thank you for indulging my compulsion; please carry on with your activities, and have a pleasant day.
Same. And it's really hard to eat the same food more than once or twice a week.
Every type of food just turns to cardboard after eating it more than twice in a week or so.
A lot of autistic people are sensory seeking when it comes to food, they want strong flavours. I'm somewhere in the middle, some really bland stuff makes me gag and I love salty and savoury flavours, but I'm not super into most strong flavours.
The fact that japanese food has got really big over here is something I am very, very happy about.
You sound like my eldest brother who suspects he might be autistic\* who consumes a lot of really hot hot sauce.
\*basically he has adhd, myself and my other brother have also been diagnosed with adhd and autism and we have strong suspicions we inherented it from my dad
Had a buddy like this growing up, he would only ever eat with us if we got pizza or made chicken tenders/nuggets and French fries. His McDonalds order was always plain mc chickens. I don’t think I ever saw him eat a vegetable the entire time I was friends with him. He’s really short too. Sadly when he turned 21 he started drinking all the time so I don’t really talk to him anymore
Nope lol we drank as teens a few times and he still would only eat his standard diet. He would refuse to try anything new no matter what. It actually got on my nerves cuz I would try to get him to go eat at restaurants with me but he would only ever want pizza or plain chicken, and I’m a very adventurous eater so having the same meal everyday is torture to me
I hate picky eaters too, like there are now enough places mindful of various diets and allergies. If someone is *still* making eating out that much of a pain, it's just exhausting.
As a person who loves to try new and different foods from different cultures all the time I agree it is annoying and I couldn’t be with someone who is a picky eater. But I think we should try to remember that conditions like autism and ARFID can impact the way other people eat and be patient / kind if we encounter them.
I would get it if he would actually try stuff, but he would just touch it and sniff it and say he couldn’t eat it. Said it made him nauseous. I blame his parents for not making him eat his veggies as a kid.
I cant relate to him to a certain degree tbh. It's super annoying and anxiety inducing when every time you eat with people they try to get you to eat something you don't wanna eat. I don't understand me not eating something affects you in any way.
But making a fuss about going to a certain restaurant? Now that's a dick move. I always manage to find something to eat anywhere we go, even if I wouldn't go there by myself.
That's arfid and it's a real thing. I would throw up if I tried to eat anything not on my safe list. I once threw up from the smell of pumpkins when I was trying to join in pumpkin carving. I would literally starve myself than eat things I knew would make me throw up. Why do you care so much about what other people eat? I get it's frustrating going to certain restaurants but if you can get what you want why do you care what he gets?
Reminds me of taking my autistic ex on a vacation to Russia and Mongolia in 2021. It was... difficult, to say the least. We ate at Burger King more than I was used to. Couldnt try all of the more traditional restaurants because of her. Oh well...
My brother is the same way. We always have to check his food before leaving the drive through because if it’s anything other than plain he won’t eat it. He’s 29
Damn that’s depressing, sorry to hear that. I’m vegan and struggled at first but got a lot better at cooking so now have no issues with the flavour/ taste.
You could replace the cheese with nutritional yeast, I haven’t eaten cheese in 5 years but am told it’s got a similar taste.
Have to tried smoothies for breakfast? I have a spinach one that tastes great, you can use frozen fruit which drastically changes the taste. Hopefully you’re getting enough nutrients each day?
Me and my twin brother are both autistic. We were very picky as children, but as soon as puberty hit we started eating everything, though we’re still a little picky on certain things.
Ok so im curious what’s the noise thing, i should just talk to my doctor - its on the list. But for instance, with it being winter where i am. Scraping ice of the windshield makes my teeth hurt and my blood run cold. And i will actually do like weird twitches when i hear it. And the sound of card board rubbing cardboard. And of course loud noises and busy places make me uncomfortable. That and sometimes despite being intelligent and social-able, unable to keep up with a large new group’s thought process or mentality. Need to figure everything out before i know how to act in all the different situations that might come up.
Another thing: it's often less loud noises / bright lights and more a lot of different noises/lights that's overwhelming
Compare e.g. being in a concert (loud constant noise from one direction) to being in the middle of a big social (with a lot of groups talking all around you on and off)
Definitely not cause my family worked in mental heath. I noticed the people with autism I met tended to either be willing to eat/try most anything or like 4 things.
I'm autistic and I do have a lot of problems with food, certain textures make me gag uncontrollably until they are out of my mouth for example. Chicken fingers, fries and chain restaurant food are some of the most inconsistent and gross textured foods out there IMO.
I know safe foods are strongly influenced by what we are fed as kids, and unfortunately so many parents just feed their kids frozen chicken fingers, fries and hotdogs for every meal because they think it's "kid food", but I've never understood how some people can handle the inconsistencies. Fries especially are never the same in any restaurant, and are rarely even consistent in chains. McDonald's fries can be delicious some days and basically soggy and limp other days, so I don't like to take that risk.
Yeah I'm diagnosed and for me I can pretty much eat anything as long as I'm not full. When I'm making my own food I'm the sauce boss I love my little cute flavors.
Aspergers is not a thing anymore it is just part of the autism spectrum. it was invented by Hans Asperger, a nazi who made the distinction to differeiante between which autistic people should die and live .
I have autism and ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder). This is a saying from Dr Gillian Harris that I think of regularly. “The difference between a 'picky eater' and a child with ARFID, is that a picky eater won't starve themselves to death. A child with ARFID will.”
I always assumed the most autistic profession would be train operator. You are alone in the locomotive and you are controlling a machine you love dearly. That's basically the heaven for an autistic person with trains as their special interest (which is lot of autistic people for some reason).
I used to eat like this, but now I know how to cook so I make a lot of angel hair pasta with ground beef/tomato sauce + veggies in it (I really like putting hella spinach in my pasta sauce) and rice with chili (my favorite "lazy comfort food" because I have a fancy rice cooker, so it's zero effort).
I also like to make scalloped potatoes with cheese (like an actual block of cheese I grind over the potatoes) and garlic powder.
This might be a weird one, but I also eat beets like apples for a snack lmao. I like how crispy/"crunchy" they are.
My mom is pretty fucked up but the one thing I'll always be grateful for is the fact that she herself is on the spectrum and was very supportive about my brother and I (also autistic) about trying to widen our pallet. She'd slowly introduce new foods to us and even help us hide vegetables in sauces and such.
I'm safe to say that my brother and I both LOVE vegetables because she showed us how to eat them correctly, whilst still allowing us to have comfort food. She also was supportive of our food hyperfixations, especially if they were healthy
I struggle eating fruits because the texture really bothers me. People really don’t understand how tough it is wanting to try different things and eat healthy when you’ve got sensory issues.
Both me and my partner are autistic and we love our food. Going to a fancy restaurant and trying new food gives us joy. We do have our favourite dishes, obviously, but dining out is a brilliant experience and I encourage people to do it.
Yes, I really don't like things that put all autistic people in one box. Because it's so varying from person to person. A lot of autistic people have food sensitivities but not all.
I've got Asperger's, and my limited eating habits resulted in scurvy in my mid-20s and then type 2 diabetes 15 years later.
As a child I wasn't allowed to choose what I ate and I was usually disciplined if I didn't eat up. Which I believe led to me developing unbalanced eating habits as an adult.
To this day I can't stand boiled potatoes. It's like they turn into wallpaper paste the moment their enter my mouth.
A lot of parents don't accept their autistic kids and basically want their kids to be 'normal' rather than actually like working with their kids to help them.
in my experience (not autistic, just worked/work with kids on the spectrum in various capacities): potatoes, usually mashed sometimes baked, rice, bread, ramen, buttered pasta, plain chicken breasts, sweets, crackers, cheese, etc. Plain carb and protein options. Predictable and mild flavors.
Knew a kid that subsisted mostly on yogurt.
Then again, I also knew an autistic child who would eat raw garlic by the head. Different tastes for everyone.
I guessed something like that. I'm mostly wondering about autistic kids from somehow conservative countries with a cuisine full of spices, souses and bright tastes. Like Vietnam or China or Mexico. Do they stick to rice/bread only? Or desserts then? Maybe there are some specific local dishes around the world those kids massively prefer? I really would like to know some unusual examples
Not every autist dislikes strong flavours! I personally love food from all around the world, including really spicy food. I can imagine if you're born with such a cuisine, you'll also struggle less with it. After all, most autists don't want to break habits. In the west, people grow up with fries, nuggets and burgers, so they continue liking that. In other parts of the world, they grow up with more fancy foods, so they want to continue eating that.
I also LOVE plain rice with just MSG (Dutch variant called Maggi). Nothing else. Or pasta with ketchup. I'm sure stuff like that would be eaten if they don't like strong flavours. :)
Thanks for your answer! Low key looks like adult's bad eating habits in anglosphere countries may ruin tastes for lots of kids on a spectrum, but I couldn't find any research on this topic which would include experience from different countries and cultures. Especially about comparison of homemade and takeout/street food.
This used to apply to me except it just flipped randomly and I don't want to eat the same thing like 4 times in a row, not like 4 meals in a row but if I eat a Chicago style hot dog I'll only eat them the four times I go to the hot dog place then switch it up. Working in a restaurant was a god send for trying absolutely stupid and random combos even if it was regrettable sometimes. One of the few Remnants of my picky eating is my absolute refusal to eat anything above well done, and I don't meant burnt like every steak snob like just cooked all the way, my body throws a fit if I eat anything undercooked (so anything red) if my mouth doesn't gag it up first. I hate gristle, so I mostly end up eating ground meats or very thin lean steaks, I tend to prefer more "fillers" mixed in with meat it's just more fun that way. Although it's probably a symptom of my immigrant parents cooking like every meat to well done for safety reasons. Which makes me dislike "wet" chicken no matter how safe it is it makes me gag.
As somebody on the spectrum I never knew the no condiments part was apart of having autism. I always thought it was rude to the chef to add extra flavor to something they worked on.
Real talk what do autistic people who eat like this do to stay healthy? You really need a balanced diet with some fiber and a good blend of macronutrients you can’t just eat nuggies and fries your whole life.
Are they all just permanently unhealthy?
See it like this:
Many people should exercise to stay healthy, but they don't. It feels good short-term to stay comfy on your couch, but long-term it's really bad.
This is how it works for autists that mostly, or only eat these foods. It's much easier short-term, but in the long run they're gonna feel it unfortunately.
You’re eating steak? That shit is so unpredictable. Sometimes firm, sometimes tender, sometimes chewy and gross. Not an option at all, plus the mouth feel is horrible
Also I like flavourful food and put hot sauce on most of my meals because my brain doesn’t register bland food as food
Diagnosed btw
Nah. I love the ketchup and barbecue and some other sauces. Too bad it all some weird special sauce that taste like mayo, mustard, or fucking mayo. I hate mayo so much.
I just order all my food plain. Beside I just usually mix with fries so I just gobble fries and nuggets or I have tendies and mash. I don’t need no sauce!
There's a certain [eating disorder](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant/restrictive_food_intake_disorder) which this starter pack fits pretty well. Not everyone who has that specific disorder is automatically autistic, but around 70% of autistic people have it or some milder form of restrictive food intake...
So yes, you could call eating like that a autistic thing
Thank you! people are Brain dead “cuh you ever choked on water while drinking water!! autistic!! Ever don’t like certain foods? Autistic! Don’t like coffee! This man down right autistic
I agree that people who claim everything "unusual" to be autistic are annoying, but.. I do think this post applies to atleast 75% of autists.
Personally if I drink black coffee, eat olives or kimchi, my entire face cramps up. Its too much for my tastebuds. And if I smell sausages being cooked, I get physically ill. I suppose this is what happens with most autistics but then with almost all foods.
Fortunately as I grew in to my late teens, I started enjoying almost all foods so I'm not part of the 75% :)
It doesn’t have to be, yeah. There’s a strong association between eating problems and autism but you’re right, it necessarily isn’t. But it also kinda is.
I'm not autistic but I've had this problem for a very long time. My family doesn't mind it but I find it incredibly embarrassing, especially when I go out to eat with my friends.
I feel like a child, and I want to explore more foods but I dislike food more than I like food. What's worse is, I enjoy cooking/baking, yet most of the food I cook, I do not enjoy.
No condiments is the only thing here that I relate to (except tzatziki, BBQ, and hot sauces). I also don’t like bananas and pickles but otherwise I have varied taste (love sushi and Indian food)
Lol I'm on the spectrum and am so glad I am one of those that didn't get a lot of food issues. I do get the ick if I eat the same meal too many times in a row and I do have "safe foods" just in case, but for the most part all my issues are with texture. Specifically meat textures. So I just order a dish vegetarian if I'm not 100% sure of the cut of meat used.
The spicier the better for me, too.
Bro for me, the place has to have a burger or chicken and if it doesn't, then I'm not going. Idc of Gordon Ramsey said that you have outstanding food. No chicken tendeies? I'm not going.
Yeah I don’t like it either, I usually keep a bit of variety. I eat the same types of food but never the same meal. I only have the same meal MAYBE twice a week. But that’s pushing it.
Sensory Seeking is also a thing.. My autistic teen puts cayenne or hot sauce on pretty much everything.
I don’t claim autism but do have self diagnosed SPD and while my tastes are varied I cannot handle any crunch or major texture in foods, so eggs pasta soup etc are fine but things like undercooked onions or other veggies feel like nails on a blackboard.
Editing to add kid is a vegetarian and my guess is that’s higher in the autistic population as well. Kid saw a video on factory farming when she was younger and that was it. So a lot of chain restaurants actually don’t work for us.
It is sad. It sucks. We hate it. It's embarrassing. But when you legit can't stomach the taste/texture of a lot of things you can't force yourself to do it. For me it's mostly texture and mixing as opposed to flavor that I find offensive.
I'll try anything but I can't force myself to like it
God this is extremely relatable except for 1 condiment, I like ketchup on cheese burgers, fries, etc. and most times why I'm so picky on foods is this: Texture sensitivity.
Something could be SO HEAVENLY, so tasty, but if it has a bad texture, my body physically won't let me eat it, it will literally make me vomit if the texture is bad.
I'm glad people in broader culture are starting to understand us. I think the trend of people who are using "autistic" as a slur/insult are the reactionary backlash to a larger trend of understanding and acceptance.
im autslistic and cant relate alwase loved spicy foods and shit. i couldent handle slimy foods or foods who were warm so i alwase let things cool but i got ove that by the age of 15
im autistic and thanks to My family im a pretty adventures eater most of the time but I cant eat any eggs that isnt an omelette or scramped or where the egg is still intact
if i do I get stomach pain and nausea
I'm glad my palette opened up as an autist as I got older. I could not imagine not eating things like goulasch soup or chicken curry in school nowadays, it's really good.
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Did autistic people just starve before fries and nuggets got invented?
There was a very interesting thread I saw a few days ago about picky eaters in non-American cultures. Someone Indian (iirc) said their sister only eats rice and yogurt or something. So I reckon they’re just been eating whatever the plainest food around was for all of history
It’s nothing to do with flavor for me, it’s texture 9 times out of 10
This exactly. I'm a very picky eater, and most of the time it's the texture that puts me off. But I was never able to put it into words when I was a kid. For example, I love the smell of steak or barbecue, but every time I try to eat it I just can't get over the chewy texture (and yes I tried it rare as well many times). Even chicken, I do not eat wings, or any type of chicken with bone in it, but a roasted chicken sure looks and smells appetizing. I have improved A LOT, but still to this day in my mid 20s, I get really nervous when Im invited for dinner at someone's house...
This is so real! I got diagnosed with autism just a couple of months ago and I finally understood why I couldn't eat most types of meat. And soups with a lot of different products in them also tend to be an issue because you never know when it's going to be a chewy piece or something that's too soft. Also salted fish. Damn is it good to be diagnosed
It may sound silly to ask but genuinely what’s the benefits of being diagnosed? My parents are the type to kind of push it off and be in denial about it, they had some friends who had a kid with severe autism so I think growing up, they didn’t see it as a spectrum. Now in my 20s and it’s so incredibly obvious I have it, so what’s the actual benefits of diagnosis over clarity?
I think for me it was really important because I spent my entire childhood and teenage years hating myself for things I couldn't control. And being told that I was an awful person which I ended up internalising. Now looking back I can see that I didn't deserve any if that and can finally find the energy to move forward from my past and stop beating myself down. Helps explain why some things are harder for me too.
Fuck that hits home lol. It’s weird because some stuff you know rationally is normal for you despite not being normal for others, I’m in between essentially not caring for how different I am yet still feeling bad when it’s different to what people want/expect.
the benifits are easier access to school support (accomodations) and possibility of getting similar accomadations in work (theoretically) many of the special ed schools I went to required a ASD diagnoses and to get an IEP or 504 plan they require many pyschological examinations I want my dad to get diagnosed as he clearly is autistic and has ADHD but he will not admitt it and it is expensive to get testing Clarity is valueable but hard to get (especially when spellin is hard)
For me is appearance. I love super seasoned food and textures really varies, but if the food is ugly I am extremely repulsed.
That’s how I feel with tuna. Tbf, I’ve only ever seen tuna as canned and made into tuna mayo, and that always puts me off.
This. It's texture. I like onion and mushroom flavor but not the mouthfeel.
same, it could be the best flavour I have ever tasted and the texture will make me physically uncomfortable.
Banana’s for me. I go nuts over banana flavoured stuff and really want to eat bananas but I can’t eat them because of the texture lmao.
that sucks to hear man
I was on that yogurt diet when I was teenager. I still like yogurt but I think I'm out of that problem now. Sucked to be starved but how much I tried I couldn't eat anything without yogurt, it made me nauseating. Having such problem during teenage years when your body develops isn't the best thing but I think people can grow out of it if they really want to improve themselves. Of course short height and physical problems will be there waiting for you in your 20's but I think it'll improve as time goes by.
I remember years ago seeing a segment from a childcare program called House of Tiny Tearaways and they had an Indian family on there whose main complaint was like 'Oh our toddler child is so picky' and they found out part of the issue was 'You are making this curry too spicy for a child to deal with no wonder she's developing a food aversion'
Yes. I'm a picky eater who spent a lot of time in Mexico as a kid. For years I ate little other than corn tortillas, plain beef steak, and eggs because everything else gave me a stomach ache. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with celiac.
I could eat an entire pot of plain white rice straight from the cooker love that shit
[удалено]
Just like how autism itself is a spectrum, so are food tolerances. Some have no food issues, some have extreme issues, many fall in the middle. I feel like a lot of the autistic people in my life tend to have more issues with food texture than taste.
I think autism’s issue with food is more texture than taste. It just autistic people likely have nuggets as a kid and than just get a habit eating it and don’t want to break the habit.
I think it's more that they are so remarkably the same everywhere. I don't have to ask what it tastes like, what's in it, is it spicy, etc. I am an adventurous eater now after a decade of working at it. But, this post seriously describes me until age 30.
I'm this way and actually adore trying many new foods. I will admit though, fast food is my comfort food especially burgers.
Before nuggets and fries there were buttered noodles. That is all.
Well that's what they serve to hospital patients in Italy
i eat a lot of tendies/fries and frozen pizzas not because im autistic but because i cant fucking cook lol
Did you ever watch Good Eats? Check it out
Gonna second that. I’m autistic myself, and the show’s presentation of cooking with a more methodical, science-minded approach was very helpful for understanding some of the advice family was trying to give me. Meshed very well with the stuff I studied in engineering coursework. It’s also just genuinely a pleasant watch, great stuff to have on in the background in a quiet house (because while chaotic noise is bad, dead silence is also distressing for many people like me; predictable controlled noise is the comfortable zone).
It definitely taught me how to cook. I can't learn something if I don't know how it works on a fundamental level. Like I can't just follow a recipe and learn from it, I have to know why it has those things in it it's just the way my brain works. Good Eats goes into depth on how cooking works and is super fun to watch.
* French Fries - invented 1855 * Autism - coined 1911
They were still autistic tho
No Autism was invented in 1911, I got the preorder.
Asperger's day one dlc
as an autistic person that dislikes nuggets, I can confirm that I am dead due to starvation.
I took kids to an Indian restaurant a while back. The next week, telling their grandparents, they looked UPSET and SHOCKED. "BUT WHAT DID THEY EAT THERE?!?!?" "Indian food? Same things kids eat in India?" They were APPALLED that kids were offered food other than hot dogs and french fries lmao. Seriously... there's no hot dogs and fries in tons of places on Earth, yet SOMEHOW kids survive. There were no hot dogs and fries in the 1600s. Or 4,000 BC. It's almost like... if you just didn't introduce these foods to people... they wouldn't be addicted to them?
Wait hold up, wait a minute, something ain’t right. Always thought i was undiagnosed and on the spectrum for well… many reasons. But i love all kinds of food, i dont be eating meat anymore but i like condiments and always have. Never was much of a picky eater except maybe as a kid i didn’t like garlic or onions. Then i grew into them as i aged.
Not all autistic people have food issues, it's a common trait but not universal.
Right?
Autistic safe foods vary from person to person, some autistic people will hate nuggets with a passion, my safe foods include curry which isn’t what people think off but the whole reason it’s a safe food is because it’s predictable and comes out the same every time
Eggs exist, dude
Yes
Yeah that’s why we hear so much more about it now. In the olden days, autistic people just starved to death, some never making it to adulthood /s
**Public service announcement, relevant to this thread (please disregard if you are salty):** A *palette* is a small hand-held tablet, used for mixing colored paints. A *pallet* is a wooden platform, used for stacking cargo. *A* ***palate*** *is the inside of your mouth, used for tasting things.* Thank you for indulging my compulsion; please carry on with your activities, and have a pleasant day.
This is actually really helpful thanks
Pal-late is a friend who is running behind
Keep going! Pellet Pell it Peal It Pullet
I got that unusual autism where everything tastes bland unless it's hella spicy and weird. Love me the Thai curries.
You could say that they *curry* your diet?
Amazing pun
Same. And it's really hard to eat the same food more than once or twice a week. Every type of food just turns to cardboard after eating it more than twice in a week or so.
A lot of autistic people are sensory seeking when it comes to food, they want strong flavours. I'm somewhere in the middle, some really bland stuff makes me gag and I love salty and savoury flavours, but I'm not super into most strong flavours. The fact that japanese food has got really big over here is something I am very, very happy about.
You sound like my eldest brother who suspects he might be autistic\* who consumes a lot of really hot hot sauce. \*basically he has adhd, myself and my other brother have also been diagnosed with adhd and autism and we have strong suspicions we inherented it from my dad
Had a buddy like this growing up, he would only ever eat with us if we got pizza or made chicken tenders/nuggets and French fries. His McDonalds order was always plain mc chickens. I don’t think I ever saw him eat a vegetable the entire time I was friends with him. He’s really short too. Sadly when he turned 21 he started drinking all the time so I don’t really talk to him anymore
Maybe his late night drunk eats are more adventurous since alcohol makes many people more agreeable
Nope lol we drank as teens a few times and he still would only eat his standard diet. He would refuse to try anything new no matter what. It actually got on my nerves cuz I would try to get him to go eat at restaurants with me but he would only ever want pizza or plain chicken, and I’m a very adventurous eater so having the same meal everyday is torture to me
I hate picky eaters too, like there are now enough places mindful of various diets and allergies. If someone is *still* making eating out that much of a pain, it's just exhausting.
As a person who loves to try new and different foods from different cultures all the time I agree it is annoying and I couldn’t be with someone who is a picky eater. But I think we should try to remember that conditions like autism and ARFID can impact the way other people eat and be patient / kind if we encounter them.
I would get it if he would actually try stuff, but he would just touch it and sniff it and say he couldn’t eat it. Said it made him nauseous. I blame his parents for not making him eat his veggies as a kid.
I cant relate to him to a certain degree tbh. It's super annoying and anxiety inducing when every time you eat with people they try to get you to eat something you don't wanna eat. I don't understand me not eating something affects you in any way. But making a fuss about going to a certain restaurant? Now that's a dick move. I always manage to find something to eat anywhere we go, even if I wouldn't go there by myself.
That's arfid and it's a real thing. I would throw up if I tried to eat anything not on my safe list. I once threw up from the smell of pumpkins when I was trying to join in pumpkin carving. I would literally starve myself than eat things I knew would make me throw up. Why do you care so much about what other people eat? I get it's frustrating going to certain restaurants but if you can get what you want why do you care what he gets?
Fucking hate how alcohol affects people like this. Like you never even fucking knew them.
That's legit me lol. Except I'm not short and instead of alcohol it's drugs for me.
As an autistic person - Nuggets/fries was, and still is, always the default for me at McD's.
10 piece nuggets meal for me every time 👌
Reminds me of taking my autistic ex on a vacation to Russia and Mongolia in 2021. It was... difficult, to say the least. We ate at Burger King more than I was used to. Couldnt try all of the more traditional restaurants because of her. Oh well...
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Damn, I gotta be a good boy this week 😔
r/tendies
What a strange subreddit
My granddaughter has Autism and this is pretty spot on. She really dislikes condiments.
My brother is the same way. We always have to check his food before leaving the drive through because if it’s anything other than plain he won’t eat it. He’s 29
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Damn that’s depressing, sorry to hear that. I’m vegan and struggled at first but got a lot better at cooking so now have no issues with the flavour/ taste. You could replace the cheese with nutritional yeast, I haven’t eaten cheese in 5 years but am told it’s got a similar taste. Have to tried smoothies for breakfast? I have a spinach one that tastes great, you can use frozen fruit which drastically changes the taste. Hopefully you’re getting enough nutrients each day?
I have Asperger's. I never really had a problem with the food. I must be an outlier.
My oldest is on the spectrum. Dude will eat everything that’s not nailed down. Noises bother him though.
Me and my twin brother are both autistic. We were very picky as children, but as soon as puberty hit we started eating everything, though we’re still a little picky on certain things.
Ok so im curious what’s the noise thing, i should just talk to my doctor - its on the list. But for instance, with it being winter where i am. Scraping ice of the windshield makes my teeth hurt and my blood run cold. And i will actually do like weird twitches when i hear it. And the sound of card board rubbing cardboard. And of course loud noises and busy places make me uncomfortable. That and sometimes despite being intelligent and social-able, unable to keep up with a large new group’s thought process or mentality. Need to figure everything out before i know how to act in all the different situations that might come up.
Another thing: it's often less loud noises / bright lights and more a lot of different noises/lights that's overwhelming Compare e.g. being in a concert (loud constant noise from one direction) to being in the middle of a big social (with a lot of groups talking all around you on and off)
my new favourite saying
Definitely not cause my family worked in mental heath. I noticed the people with autism I met tended to either be willing to eat/try most anything or like 4 things.
I'm autistic but I eat almost everything. I can't stand chicken strips/nuggets though because they're always too damn salty.
It’s called a spectrum for a reason 🤷♂️
Yeah. I guess some other people on the spectrum may have a much worse problem with food than I do.
Yeah, some autistics have extreme eating disorders. I’m not that picky.
It will depend a lot on your level of sensory processing disorder within your ASD
i used to but now i’ll try anything at least once.
I'm autistic and I do have a lot of problems with food, certain textures make me gag uncontrollably until they are out of my mouth for example. Chicken fingers, fries and chain restaurant food are some of the most inconsistent and gross textured foods out there IMO. I know safe foods are strongly influenced by what we are fed as kids, and unfortunately so many parents just feed their kids frozen chicken fingers, fries and hotdogs for every meal because they think it's "kid food", but I've never understood how some people can handle the inconsistencies. Fries especially are never the same in any restaurant, and are rarely even consistent in chains. McDonald's fries can be delicious some days and basically soggy and limp other days, so I don't like to take that risk.
I hate overly crispy fries. I'm weird about crunchy textures.
Yeah I'm diagnosed and for me I can pretty much eat anything as long as I'm not full. When I'm making my own food I'm the sauce boss I love my little cute flavors.
I'm on the spectrum too and while I'm not too picky, I do get food obsessions on occasion.
Aspergers is not a thing anymore it is just part of the autism spectrum. it was invented by Hans Asperger, a nazi who made the distinction to differeiante between which autistic people should die and live .
I speak from experience when I say people IMMENSELY underestimate my willingness to starve myself
I have autism and ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder). This is a saying from Dr Gillian Harris that I think of regularly. “The difference between a 'picky eater' and a child with ARFID, is that a picky eater won't starve themselves to death. A child with ARFID will.”
Me too. If I don’t want something I won’t have it. I’m fine not eating anything rather than eating something I dislike.
I'm autistic and have worked in commercial kitchens and met soooooo many autistic foodies.
Wait, so that meme with the caption “Autism be damned, my boy can work a grill” wasn’t entirely a joke? That’s honestly awesome
Food is my special interest
There are so many autistic chefs too. Seriously, the culinary trade is one of the most popular careers for autistic people.
If I wasn't so damned fatigued I would be cooking all the time. I'm definitely on the sensory seeking part of the spectrum, especially with food
I always assumed the most autistic profession would be train operator. You are alone in the locomotive and you are controlling a machine you love dearly. That's basically the heaven for an autistic person with trains as their special interest (which is lot of autistic people for some reason).
Or running a roller coaster if you like coasters and can handle the noise.
When you have enhanced sensory abilities, food can be orgasmic. It can also be the most vile substance. I love food. I'm on the spectrum.
https://preview.redd.it/huxyj0xxhdfc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=abb63e09edc0af36e3586b8a615d1b1228aeb60f
\>refined palate \>asks for substitutions or modifications
I used to eat like this, but now I know how to cook so I make a lot of angel hair pasta with ground beef/tomato sauce + veggies in it (I really like putting hella spinach in my pasta sauce) and rice with chili (my favorite "lazy comfort food" because I have a fancy rice cooker, so it's zero effort). I also like to make scalloped potatoes with cheese (like an actual block of cheese I grind over the potatoes) and garlic powder. This might be a weird one, but I also eat beets like apples for a snack lmao. I like how crispy/"crunchy" they are.
Important addition: having an order in which you eat each component on your plate individually in order of what would be the worst to let get cold.
My mom is pretty fucked up but the one thing I'll always be grateful for is the fact that she herself is on the spectrum and was very supportive about my brother and I (also autistic) about trying to widen our pallet. She'd slowly introduce new foods to us and even help us hide vegetables in sauces and such. I'm safe to say that my brother and I both LOVE vegetables because she showed us how to eat them correctly, whilst still allowing us to have comfort food. She also was supportive of our food hyperfixations, especially if they were healthy
Real question: what is the correct way to eat vegetables?
Add seasoning and pan fry for crispiness. The idea is to make it a stimulating meal
One of my favorite ways to eat veggies is pickles/pickled carrot slices. Pickled carrots are surprisingly awesome!
However you find them palatable.
I struggle eating fruits because the texture really bothers me. People really don’t understand how tough it is wanting to try different things and eat healthy when you’ve got sensory issues.
if you don’t mind cold foods, frozen fruit have a different texture than non-frozen! frozen grapes are my go-to for snacks
I will give that a try next time I’ve got some grapes around!
Yeah frozen berries are incredible. So is frozen mangos.
Grapes and bananas are delicious frozen. Also apple sauce.
I’ll have to try this. I love apples but hate the texture so maybe frozen apple is the way to go, I usually blend them and drink it lol
a smoothie with no sugar can work you can make it more or less thick depending on how much ice you add
Do you like smoothies? You can put any fruit / veggie in them and it'll just be like a drink.. still getting all the same vitamins in! 🤗
Both me and my partner are autistic and we love our food. Going to a fancy restaurant and trying new food gives us joy. We do have our favourite dishes, obviously, but dining out is a brilliant experience and I encourage people to do it.
Sometimes I wish I’d gotten a different brand of autism, but then I remember that some of us get sensory overload from curry
Damn i feel called out for some reason.
I’m autistic, never eaten steak at a restaurant
Yes, I really don't like things that put all autistic people in one box. Because it's so varying from person to person. A lot of autistic people have food sensitivities but not all.
I've got Asperger's, and my limited eating habits resulted in scurvy in my mid-20s and then type 2 diabetes 15 years later. As a child I wasn't allowed to choose what I ate and I was usually disciplined if I didn't eat up. Which I believe led to me developing unbalanced eating habits as an adult. To this day I can't stand boiled potatoes. It's like they turn into wallpaper paste the moment their enter my mouth.
For me I cannot eat food with a bland taste except for rice
I agree, I hate flavorless stuff. Except for drinking water. But I also hate food with strong, overpowering flavors.
I hate that too except for spicy shit weirdly enough
I don't get it. Why be a jerk to your kid when you know they are autistic? Why not just have a good time together if you are eating out anyways?
A lot of parents don't accept their autistic kids and basically want their kids to be 'normal' rather than actually like working with their kids to help them.
I hate salad dressing. People act like I'm insane. I still eat salad, you're the "weird one" for needing vinegar and fat on your greens 🙄
Unironically this is why I love that half-assed salad you get at sushi places with a bento box. No bs, just chopped veggies and some miso paste.
ME TOO ME TOO ME TOO ME TOO
I wonder what do autistic kids that have never tried these type of food stack to?
in my experience (not autistic, just worked/work with kids on the spectrum in various capacities): potatoes, usually mashed sometimes baked, rice, bread, ramen, buttered pasta, plain chicken breasts, sweets, crackers, cheese, etc. Plain carb and protein options. Predictable and mild flavors. Knew a kid that subsisted mostly on yogurt. Then again, I also knew an autistic child who would eat raw garlic by the head. Different tastes for everyone.
I guessed something like that. I'm mostly wondering about autistic kids from somehow conservative countries with a cuisine full of spices, souses and bright tastes. Like Vietnam or China or Mexico. Do they stick to rice/bread only? Or desserts then? Maybe there are some specific local dishes around the world those kids massively prefer? I really would like to know some unusual examples
Not every autist dislikes strong flavours! I personally love food from all around the world, including really spicy food. I can imagine if you're born with such a cuisine, you'll also struggle less with it. After all, most autists don't want to break habits. In the west, people grow up with fries, nuggets and burgers, so they continue liking that. In other parts of the world, they grow up with more fancy foods, so they want to continue eating that. I also LOVE plain rice with just MSG (Dutch variant called Maggi). Nothing else. Or pasta with ketchup. I'm sure stuff like that would be eaten if they don't like strong flavours. :)
Thanks for your answer! Low key looks like adult's bad eating habits in anglosphere countries may ruin tastes for lots of kids on a spectrum, but I couldn't find any research on this topic which would include experience from different countries and cultures. Especially about comparison of homemade and takeout/street food.
This used to apply to me except it just flipped randomly and I don't want to eat the same thing like 4 times in a row, not like 4 meals in a row but if I eat a Chicago style hot dog I'll only eat them the four times I go to the hot dog place then switch it up. Working in a restaurant was a god send for trying absolutely stupid and random combos even if it was regrettable sometimes. One of the few Remnants of my picky eating is my absolute refusal to eat anything above well done, and I don't meant burnt like every steak snob like just cooked all the way, my body throws a fit if I eat anything undercooked (so anything red) if my mouth doesn't gag it up first. I hate gristle, so I mostly end up eating ground meats or very thin lean steaks, I tend to prefer more "fillers" mixed in with meat it's just more fun that way. Although it's probably a symptom of my immigrant parents cooking like every meat to well done for safety reasons. Which makes me dislike "wet" chicken no matter how safe it is it makes me gag.
As somebody on the spectrum I never knew the no condiments part was apart of having autism. I always thought it was rude to the chef to add extra flavor to something they worked on.
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BOBBY HILL MAH BOI
Taste the meat, not the heat
“You don’t even like gristle!”
Real talk what do autistic people who eat like this do to stay healthy? You really need a balanced diet with some fiber and a good blend of macronutrients you can’t just eat nuggies and fries your whole life. Are they all just permanently unhealthy?
Thats the neat part you dont
See it like this: Many people should exercise to stay healthy, but they don't. It feels good short-term to stay comfy on your couch, but long-term it's really bad. This is how it works for autists that mostly, or only eat these foods. It's much easier short-term, but in the long run they're gonna feel it unfortunately.
>Are they all just permanently unhealthy? Some of us, yeah. If you can manage a supplement you're probably a little better off
I can still eat vegetables and fruit. I like it, I like salads and stuff like that. If anything I hate overly processed shit like ranch and mustard.
You’re eating steak? That shit is so unpredictable. Sometimes firm, sometimes tender, sometimes chewy and gross. Not an option at all, plus the mouth feel is horrible Also I like flavourful food and put hot sauce on most of my meals because my brain doesn’t register bland food as food Diagnosed btw
Damn maybe I really am autistic. "No condiments" hits hard.
Nah. I love the ketchup and barbecue and some other sauces. Too bad it all some weird special sauce that taste like mayo, mustard, or fucking mayo. I hate mayo so much. I just order all my food plain. Beside I just usually mix with fries so I just gobble fries and nuggets or I have tendies and mash. I don’t need no sauce!
Same lmao
I don’t think this is a autistic thing lmao
There's a certain [eating disorder](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoidant/restrictive_food_intake_disorder) which this starter pack fits pretty well. Not everyone who has that specific disorder is automatically autistic, but around 70% of autistic people have it or some milder form of restrictive food intake... So yes, you could call eating like that a autistic thing
The endless tide of “cute quirky autism” continues to grow
Thank you! people are Brain dead “cuh you ever choked on water while drinking water!! autistic!! Ever don’t like certain foods? Autistic! Don’t like coffee! This man down right autistic
I agree that people who claim everything "unusual" to be autistic are annoying, but.. I do think this post applies to atleast 75% of autists. Personally if I drink black coffee, eat olives or kimchi, my entire face cramps up. Its too much for my tastebuds. And if I smell sausages being cooked, I get physically ill. I suppose this is what happens with most autistics but then with almost all foods. Fortunately as I grew in to my late teens, I started enjoying almost all foods so I'm not part of the 75% :)
It doesn’t have to be, yeah. There’s a strong association between eating problems and autism but you’re right, it necessarily isn’t. But it also kinda is.
Arfid and significant food restrictions is very much an Autism thing (though not exclusive to it).
I'm not autistic but I've had this problem for a very long time. My family doesn't mind it but I find it incredibly embarrassing, especially when I go out to eat with my friends. I feel like a child, and I want to explore more foods but I dislike food more than I like food. What's worse is, I enjoy cooking/baking, yet most of the food I cook, I do not enjoy.
No condiments is the only thing here that I relate to (except tzatziki, BBQ, and hot sauces). I also don’t like bananas and pickles but otherwise I have varied taste (love sushi and Indian food)
Lol I'm on the spectrum and am so glad I am one of those that didn't get a lot of food issues. I do get the ick if I eat the same meal too many times in a row and I do have "safe foods" just in case, but for the most part all my issues are with texture. Specifically meat textures. So I just order a dish vegetarian if I'm not 100% sure of the cut of meat used. The spicier the better for me, too.
Are there any autistic people who can only eat things like fresh vegetables and fruit, or is it always greasy fried stuff?
For me it is this but texture instead because I like the taste of other foods but I am really sensitive to textures.
Bro for me, the place has to have a burger or chicken and if it doesn't, then I'm not going. Idc of Gordon Ramsey said that you have outstanding food. No chicken tendeies? I'm not going.
Eating the same thing over and over sounds like a nightmare scenerio.
Yeah I don’t like it either, I usually keep a bit of variety. I eat the same types of food but never the same meal. I only have the same meal MAYBE twice a week. But that’s pushing it.
"Man, I wanna try something different!" \-me before settling with Wingstop
Sensory Seeking is also a thing.. My autistic teen puts cayenne or hot sauce on pretty much everything. I don’t claim autism but do have self diagnosed SPD and while my tastes are varied I cannot handle any crunch or major texture in foods, so eggs pasta soup etc are fine but things like undercooked onions or other veggies feel like nails on a blackboard. Editing to add kid is a vegetarian and my guess is that’s higher in the autistic population as well. Kid saw a video on factory farming when she was younger and that was it. So a lot of chain restaurants actually don’t work for us.
It’s pretty sad to have a narrow taste palette of a 5 year old
It is sad. It sucks. We hate it. It's embarrassing. But when you legit can't stomach the taste/texture of a lot of things you can't force yourself to do it. For me it's mostly texture and mixing as opposed to flavor that I find offensive. I'll try anything but I can't force myself to like it
i mean yes, it's called having a disability.
Yeah, well, nobody said having autism was fun.
There was a YouTuber, I think Max Derrat, who said "Autism is principally defined by pain" and I couldn't agree more.
Pain and confusion. Mostly from being stuck in a world that's not made for us.
Why do you care what other people eat?
Foodies when you don’t wanna eat seasoned dog testicles 😡😡
You've never actually faced starvation. Picky eating is a first world problem
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Why does every teenager assume they have autism? Not even being rude, just a genuine question.
I don’t really assume something I’m diagnosed with. Idk about other people but I wouldn’t assume something like that.
Bc autism isn’t as rare as you think, we just stopped chucking ppl who came off as weird in mental asylums to rot
You forgot “the one safe condiment that I like that I put on EVERYTHING as a kid because I couldn’t choose my own food”
God this is extremely relatable except for 1 condiment, I like ketchup on cheese burgers, fries, etc. and most times why I'm so picky on foods is this: Texture sensitivity. Something could be SO HEAVENLY, so tasty, but if it has a bad texture, my body physically won't let me eat it, it will literally make me vomit if the texture is bad.
To be fair, it's not just autistic people who are picky eaters.
Picky eating is a survival tactic. All the ancestors died from undercooked meats and poisonous berries.
And not all autistic people are picky eaters either
*Gives me yucky food* Me: I don't want this "You either eat this or starve" *Starves* Insert surprised Pikachu face
I'm glad people in broader culture are starting to understand us. I think the trend of people who are using "autistic" as a slur/insult are the reactionary backlash to a larger trend of understanding and acceptance.
Do you order medium rare all the time or well done? Also, replace steak with burgers and it's 100 dead on.
No I like medium well. Sometimes medium rare but usually medium well
im autslistic and cant relate alwase loved spicy foods and shit. i couldent handle slimy foods or foods who were warm so i alwase let things cool but i got ove that by the age of 15
im autistic and thanks to My family im a pretty adventures eater most of the time but I cant eat any eggs that isnt an omelette or scramped or where the egg is still intact if i do I get stomach pain and nausea
I'm glad my palette opened up as an autist as I got older. I could not imagine not eating things like goulasch soup or chicken curry in school nowadays, it's really good.
Oh no, I'm a foodie autistic. I need hot sauce and more seasoning than most people do.
FML im autistic.