Autism & Disordered Eating

Name: Autism & Disordered Eating
Rating: 4.6 (92 reviews)

Struggling with your child under or over eating and want to know what helps?

Created byLoren Snow

Last updated 5/2023

English

What you'll learn

The reasons why an autistic person might have difficulty around food.
Sensory processing and its role in eating.
Strategies to help if an autistic person over or under eats.
Eating Disorders such as anorexia and ARFID in autism.

Course content

6 sections • 22 lectures • 2h 20m total length

Intro Video1:08
Introduction to me and the course1:56
Loren introduces themself, the class, what you will learn, and explains why it’s vital to learn about you or your child's eating needs.

What senses are involved in eating?3:39
If you know anything about autism you know that autism and sensory differences almost always come together.
In this session, Loren will cover not just the five main senses and how they relate to eating difficulties but several other senses you might not have heard of but that just might change how you view your child's sensory world.
The Sensory Diet2:01
Now that we've covered the senses we need to cover our first strategy: The Sensory Diet.
This "diet" covers all the daily activities and accommodations needed to meet someone's sensory needs.

Pica1:16
Pica is the first eating disorder we will look at.
In this condition an autistic person may eat inedible objects for a variety of reasons.
Control & PDA2:14
Control is an important need in autism. This can show itself as fear of change and high anxiety.
One expression of autism is Pathological Demand Avoidance; this is an autism subtype marked by high levels of anxiety around demands, expectations, and being out of control.
Stress & Past Experiences1:19
OCD & Anorexia4:04
In this session we will cover:
What OCD is and how it can go alongside with or be confused with autism.
A few OCD subtypes and how they can cause eating difficulties.
Anorexia nervosa the second eating disorder we'll be looking at.
Eating Disorders1:28
Here we just recap what eating disorders we've talked about so far and briefly discuss a few others we haven't
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)6:14
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is the last eating disorder we'll be looking at.
It is an eating disorder and is recognised as so by the World Health Organisations but is often overlooked or not heard of by professionals.

Eating too little4:15
Some autistic people eat too little: let's look at why and what can help!
Chaining2:41
Chaining is a great strategy to get someone eating new things! I even use this strategy for myself when I want to eat something new.
Transitioning1:20
Transitions can be really difficult for autistic people. Let's look at why they especially hard around eating and how can be transition better.
Eating too much6:17
Some autistic people eat too much: let's look at why and what can help!
Other things that can help1:54
Here we discuss the benefits of things like an occupational therapist, looking at health conditions, and sensory profiles.

Requirements

None

Description

Food and eating can be a massive issue for autistic individuals. Many things, such as sensory issues and anxiety, can lead to a person having a very restricted diet. So what can you do to help your autistic children with eating difficulties?

My name is Loren Snow, and I'm an autistic public speaker and trainer.

I've taught thousands of parents of autistic children over the years and have worked with many organisations from schools to The National Autistic Society and NHS England. I see many businesses confused about how to help, parents lost on what to believe, and autistic people struggling to understand themselves. So what better place to learn about autism than directly from an autistic person like myself!

In this course, we'll cover many reasons your autistic child might have difficulty eating and around food. We'll also look at many simple strategies you can start straight away that should help.

I'll share with you my extensive knowledge about:

Sensory sensitivities and their role in eating problems
How the need for control impacts eating in autism
Conditions that can cause eating difficulties
Mental health and wellbeing's role in eating
Strategies that work to help your child

Let's face it, autism can seem complicated; it can be confusing and feel like there's a lot to learn. So if you're struggling with your child under or over-eating and feel helpless, then this is the perfect introduction course for you.

Who this course is for:

Parents of autistic children.
Support workers for autistic people.

Autism & Disordered Eating

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction2 lectures • 3min

Food & The Senses2 lectures • 6min

Other reasons an autistic person might have difficulty eating6 lectures • 17min

Things that help5 lectures • 16min

Where to find out more + extras6 lectures • 16min

Updates1 lecture • 1hr 22min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: