ADHD, Autism and Related Conditions

Diet and Children's Behaviour: The Autism Spectrum and Food Choices

There is no diet that will “cure” autism – and no “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to children’s nutrition and diet.

However, many parents do report improvements in the sleep, mood and learning of their autistic child following expert clinical assessment to help them identify and modify some aspects of their child’s diet.

Healthier food choices can also benefit children in the general population; and in educational settings, teachers often see noticeable improvements in children's behaviour and learning when they consume healthier foods.

David Rex on his role as specialist Dietitian, working in Children’s services

David discusses his work with individual children and their parents or carers in his clinic, and implementing a Public Health remit in schools.

For children he sees clinically, he uses a low-pressure approach to expand their narrow diets due to diagnoses like autism or ADHD.

In schools, he collaborates with food and health education, providing training for teachers to confidently integrate food and mental health into their classroom messages for children and young people.

Selective eating: what kinds of issues do parents and teachers come across?

When introducing new foods to children at school or nursery parents and teachers report picky eating as a particularly common and challenging issue.

This occurs with varying degrees of severity and duration. Mild to moderate picky eating is a normal phase for children between 18 months and five years old, which gradually resolves. However, for other children the problems and more severe and persistent. And the motivations between these two kinds of selective eating differ.

What do children need to know about food and diet?

Teaching children the connection between their physical experiences with food and nutrition concepts is vitally important. Children may not understand why they feel hungry or experience energy dips after consuming ultra-processed foods.

To bridge this gap, we can start by helping children relate their physical sensations to nutrition theory. However, abstract concepts like the benefits of Omega-3 and folic acid cannot be intuitively experienced. Without this knowledge, children must trust that the scientific information is accurate and will influence their behavior long enough to experience the benefits.