Eating behavior in autism: senses as a window towards food acceptance
Geneviève Petitpierre, Anne-Claude Luisier, Moustafa Bensafi
Abstract
Atypical eating behaviors are common in autism. This article sheds light on the role of sensory processing on food acceptance and selectivity in autism. The role of the senses in eating behavior is described, suggesting that changes in liking to food sensory stimuli in autism occur and are linked to food neophobia. Interventions addressing sensory processes to improve eating behavior through familiarization are presented and discussed. Their results suggest that, in addition to other factors such as a social context, following a progression from unimodal to multimodal stimuli, the support of the child as an agent, and finally paying attention to the child’s own rhythm, sensory familiarization may change food acceptance in autism.