Autism and Food Budgets

Many children with autism are picky eaters. I have one of those children. One of the techniques I learned was to keep a list of things she would eat, even if she only ate them occasionally.

I was surprised. There was variety in what she ate. The list helped me feel better that she did eat more than I thought she did. Using the list to routinely offer her food she only ate sometimes also helped keep her diet as varied as possible.

I also was able to keep better control of our food budget. I knew which items to watch for coupons and/or sales. There was less waste since I was very selective about new foods I wanted to introduce. With the help of my list, I also choose foods similar in taste or texture to what she already would eat.

Here is one of my children’s list:

Chicken Nuggets
Breakfast Burritos
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo with Rice
Cheese Nachos

Apple Juice
Orange Juice

Sprite

Raw Vegetables with Ranch Dip

Whole Nuts

Cereal

Yogurt
Milk
String Cheese

Any sweet type snack cake