Eating behaviour in autism spectrum disorder
- 18.10.2022
- English Articles
- Sarah Geiselhart
Peer reviewed / Manuscript (original, shortpaper) submitted: 4. November 2021 / Revision accepted: 1. Dezember 2021
Introduction
The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterised by deficits in social communication and interaction, repetitive patterns of behaviour and sometimes very particular interests as well as special processing of perceptions [2]. There are still only a few studies on the eating behaviours of autistic people. Previous studies on this topic primarily deal with the problems in the eating behaviour of autistic children [3–6]. Only in recent years, autistic adults have become more and more the subject of (meta-)studies [7–10]. There are many indications that the special perceptual processing is not only a characteristic symptom of ASD but also the cause of many abnormalities which manifest not least in eating behaviour [11].
Methods
In cooperation with the journal "autismus verstehen", the eating behaviour of children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) was investigated as part of a bachelor's thesis. After a literature research, 18 people aged between 18 and 65 (four women and 14 men) with an autism diagnosis were interviewed between May and July 2021 via the adult self-help groups of the association "Autismus verstehen e. V." using a problem-centred interview. For this purpose, a guideline was prepared based on the literature research, which contained nine ad hoc questions. ...
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neural developmental disorder that affects one in 68 people worldwide. Parents and educators of autistic children often notice a picky eating behaviour in the children. To investigate the peculiarities of the eating behaviour of autistic people, 18 autistic adults were interviewed and the parents of 30 underage autistic children completed a questionnaire. The study concluded that there are very great individual differences in the eating behaviour of autistic people. However, the abnormalities in eating behaviour are almost always directly attributable to the special perceptions of autistic people. Hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity of all five senses manifest noticeably in eating behaviour.
Keywords: Autism, ASD, picky eating behaviour, food selectivity, adults, adolescents, children
