I’m not eating that! It tastes of mint

There is a common reality that nearly all parents/carers/guardians of autism face.   I don’t know if you know but there is often a problem with people on the spectrum regarding food.  They tend to stick to one type of food that they love above all others.  Like the obsessions I have talked about before, they either like something forever and that is their obsession, or they change it over time.

However easy or difficult your child is, there are certain core things to consider when you consider food and/or drink.  Basically, you have to be able to produce food and drink for them at any time.  And it  needs to be something they will consume.  

Often professionals say a child will eat when they are hungry but that doesn’t ensure it with a child or adult on the spectrum.  Some foods they will eat quite happily if you make it for them, but that is not always a guarantee they will eat the food you produce for them.

I wanted to tell you about the time Johnathan was eating a sandwich at his grandparents house and he refused to take a nibble and threw the sandwich down saying “I’m not eating that!  It tastes of mint!”  Granny smelled it and  couldn’t smell anything there.  Daddy actually took a bite said he couldn’t tell the difference.  

Whatever the reason, we could see he wasn’t going to have another sandwich so gave him something else.  Then Granny came back into the room and told us that she had put some really strong peppermint on top of the loaf of bread she had for Johnathan, but she had no idea how he knew.

So, you can see that it can be an absolute disaster with someone on the spectrum when they can taste something they don’t like on food they have.  Granny was saying to us she was amazed that he could tell the difference when both bread and peppermint were next to each other in the cupboard.  

I believe that most people who are on the spectrum would do something like this and it’s uncanny how they know, but they do.