I am sure that at some point you have heard that ”picky eater” and ”selective eater” mean the same thing. However, there is a major difference between a picky eater and a selective eater, and I am going to unpack the difference between the two with you.

I am also going to touch on selective eating in autism, as it is more common among Autistics compared to Allistics (non-Autistics).

A picky eater is a person who declines a certain food one day but then accepts it the next. Example: If an individual loved having toast for breakfast on Wednesday morning but then on Friday morning, they refuse to eat toast.

 A selective eater is a complex term that describes a person who does or experiences the following things most or all the time:

• “Food Neophobia”, which is the fear of trying new foods. For example, a selective eater may feel unsafe to try a new food, or they could be scared of gagging when tasting a new food.

Research shows that selective eating is more common in autism compared to the neurotypical community:

• Over the past 20 years, feeding problems have been recognized as a common challenge among Autistics.
• The prevalence of selective eating in autism has been reported to be as high as 90%.
• Across studies, 60-70% of school-aged Autistic children are described as selective eaters.
• In one study, food refusal was present in 42% of Autistic kids compared to only 19% for Allistic participants.

If some of these words are new to you such as allistic or neurotypical, you can learn what they mean in our glossary: https://atypicalscience.org/about/glossary/

The current research indicates that selective eating involves many different factors. These factors include sensory processing differences, preference for sameness, medications impacting appetite, past negative experiences, and a strong preference for independence.

Let’s dive into two factors that come under sensory processing differences: tactile defensiveness and oral sensory processing.

Both these factors are believed to help explain why selective eating may be higher among Autistics.

Tactile defensiveness is mainly related to hypersensitivity (extra-sensitivity) of touch. Research highlights that people who experience tactile defensiveness may be more likely to be selective eaters.

This is thought to be because of the tactile qualities in foods that are commonly disliked, such as tough, lumpy, mushy, or slimy foods. Such foods are often disliked because they can be more difficult to move around in the mouth.

For example, someone who has a more disapproving reaction to eating a bowl of mashed peas than is initially expected could be experiencing tactile defensiveness.

Oral sensory processing can mean too much or too little sensory processing in the mouth. Oral sensory processing can be oral over responsiveness (or hypersensitivity) or oral under responsiveness (or hyposensitivity).

Both these terms are related to the sensory receptors you have in your mouth which help with the processing of the texture, taste, and temperature of foods. This is what they mean:

• Oral over responsiveness (or hypersensitivity) is an overwhelming response to the texture of certain foods in the mouth. For example, eating lumpy food such as minced meat or diced vegetables can be so unpleasant because of the large amount of sensation happening in your mouth.

• Oral under responsiveness (or hyposensitivity) is a lack of sensations in your mouth when eating. This can lead to overfilling your mouth to try to feel some oral stimulation. For example, to try and feel something pleasant, someone may overfill their mouth with too much mashed potato, or they may only want to eat super salty or sweet foods.

Tactile defensiveness, oral hypersensitivity, and oral hyposensitivity are all sensory (feeling) experiences. Research shows that Autistics have sensory processing differences to Allistics. This is one of the reasons why selective eating may be higher amongst Autistics than Allistics.

Firstly, I want to let you know that if you think you or your child may be a selective eater that there is nothing wrong, and no one has made any mistakes. You are your own person, and it is okay to be exactly who you are. Your child is their own person with unique qualities. Being a selective eater may be one of the things that makes you, or your child, unique.

Sometimes, being a selective eater may mean that the body doesn’t get right amount of nutrients from food that it needs. For example, if milk and cheese are avoided, the body may need to get calcium from another source. If there is a strong preference for highly salty foods, then the heart and kidneys may be damaged over time.

There are several health professionals who can help. Booking an appointment to see a dietitian and occupational therapist is a great place to start. A dietitian can help figure out which nutrients may be at risk and help find alternative foods and nutrient sources to keep the body in balance. An occupational therapist can help with sensory processing and managing food preferences.

If you or your child is Autistic (diagnosed or self-diagnosed), choosing a health professional who specializes in feeding and takes a neurodiversity-affirming approach may be useful. This is because these practitioners can help with the development of a personalized approach to the management of selective eating in autism.

Interested in nutrition for autism? Read my recent article: https://atypicalscience.org/a1-beta-casein/

Or you can subscribe to the Autism Nutrition Library; use the code “ATYPICAL” to get 20% off the first month: https://bit.ly/38zcKLx

Authors

Lead author: Lara Cate Tupper (BNutrSci, MNutrDietPrac Candidate)

Supporting author: Dr Skye Marshall (PhD, APD)

Meet our writers: https://atypicalscience.org/about/team/

Disclaimers

There is not a 100% agreed upon definition for what “selective eating” is. Why is this, you may ask? It is a complicated topic and experts are still working on way to perfectly define selective eating.

For now, we have something known as a working definition, which is what we use until the final, agreed-upon definition is created. So, at this moment in time, the working definition has been used in this article.

If this article contains words that are new to you, you can learn about them in our glossary: Glossary

All information provided on this website and in any of our associated platforms is general in nature and should not be considered as a recommendation or advice specifically for you or your networks, business, or others connected to you. The content of this article is for information purposes only, is not health or personal advice, and you rely on this information at your own risk.

Please seek individualized professional advice before making any decisions about health, medical, personal, business, or social care.

The authors of this post have no conflicts of interest.

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