[yaseko]

Has anyone else with Aspie's experienced issues with selective eating?

Before I developed my current eating disorder, since earliest childhood, I would refuse to eat anything but a small variety of specific things, in specific ways; if I accidentally ate something else, I'd be horrified, and, if I tried to eat anything else, I'd gag on it. Might this be Aspie-related, or simply a harbinger of my anorexia?

[yellowfrog268]

Yaseko,

My daughter (who has many Aspie traits) has done the exact same thing. I expected this behavior when she was a toddler but she never outgrew it. She is currently 14 years old and is just beginning to sample new things albeit in very limited quantities. She too would be horrified if she unknowingly ate something other than the very limited foods she "approves" of. She has never had anorexia/bulemia it's, just one of her quirks. The only problem I see (for both my daughter and you) is that limiting what you eat may deprive you of needed nutrients. Nutritional shortcomings can lead to health problems and, if you are still growing, it may stunt that process.

If you have a therapist, I'd talk it over with him/her.

[Cellerest]

When I was little I only ate prawn cocktails and mini kievs. In my teens I went for two months only eating scrambled eggs.

I think it's linked to anxiety and a need to control my environment but also I just find it overwhelming trying to decide what to eat and like the sameness.

I just let myself do it and take vitamins to make sure I get what I need. I've also Learnt to take protein shakes when I'm being too restrictive to keep calories up.

I do t have an eating disorder. I do have OCD and anxiety issues as well as being aspie.

[yaseko]

Thank you for the replies. I feared that I might be the only one who'd run into this. I think it might in part be an anxious thing - it's certainly worse, as is my anorexia, when I'm under stress.

[The_little_didgee]

My selective eating habits started in adolescence and are not due to an eating disorder. It is related to anxiety, specifically maintaining a sense of control in an unpredictable world. I also have a few food sensitivities so that restricts what I eat, even further.

[Consumed84]

Oh gosh, yes - I've had selective eating habits since I was very, very young. I'm 29 and I *still* have them. I eat very simple things and do NOT like to wander out of my comfort zone with food. I think food textures sometimes influence what I will and will not eat too.

[yellowted]

just a thought for you all, i trained as a nanny, part of our training was specifically around diet, fussy/selective eating and nutrition, we were tought not to look at a childs intake over a day or even a week, but to look at it over a few months, you will see that over this time they will take in all the nutrients vitamines etc that their body requires even if they only ate scrambled egg on toast for a few weeks they probably will make up the other things the remaining weeks.
bodies are great at storing things for times of need, and they are excellent at demanding what they really need. you will be suprised to find that eggs have almost everything your body needs so having them only for a while is not a bad thing as far as nutrition goes. some kids only eat cerial with milk, again it is pretty well balanced nutritionally, especially the fortified ones.
everyone selectively eats, no one likes everything, the difference is some are more selective than others. if you are healthy and do not lack energy then you are probably selecting well enough for your body.
the difficulty is when you ignore your body telling you what to eat as thiscan easily turn into anorexia.