Picky Eating and ADHD

Many parents are surprised to find out that there is an association between ADHD and picky eating. It turns out that it is quite common for kids with ADHD to be picky eaters. That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do about it. Many of the tips that we recommend for neurotypical kids work well for kids with ADHD as well!

Reasons for Picky Eating

In addition to the usual reasons for picky eating, there are some additional factors with ADHD that can increase the chances of picky eating.

Sensory Differences

Many kids with ADHD also have sensory processing differences. This means that they may be more or less sensitive to different inputs. It turns out that eating and mealtime use a lot of our senses, so if your child is hypo or hyper sensitive to any of them, it can impact mealtime.

Visual: We see our food before we eat it. Some kids may find all this visual input to be overstimulating and may become dysregulated before the meal even begins. Family style meals may not work for them. Big portions may be overwhelming and they may benefit from small portions served on their plate prior to sitting down.

Auditory: Eating can be loud. Kids who are sensitive to the sounds others make may find eating with others to be extremely uncomfortable. They may do better eating alone or with headphones/ear protectors.

Touch: Some kids are sensitive to different textures and feelings. This can be very obvious when they don’t want to touch things, but it can also happen with different textures of their food. Other kids may need their food to be more textured so that they can be more aware of it in their mouth. These kids may do well with really chewy or crunchy foods.

Smell: If your child is really sensitive to smells, they may prefer that their food is served cold or room temperature where the smell is not as strong. They may also enjoy having a smell cleanser like a lemon wedge or coffee beans that they can smell to give their nose a break from other aromas at the meal.

Taste: This is the sense we most often think of with eating. Many kids are sensitive to the bitter flavor and do better with foods that are sweeter. Other kids may prefer foods with bold flavors and may like spicier foods so that they can get more input.

Interoception: This is the sense that tells us what’s going on in our body. Kids with ADHD may struggle with interoception and may not recognize when they feel hungry, full, thirsty, hot, cold, etc. They may not recognize hunger by a feeling in the stomach, but by feeling grumpy, tired, having a headache, or another symptom. If they don’t realize they are hungry, they may be unwilling to eat.

Proprioception: This sense tells us where our body and limbs are. It’s required for balance and motor control. We use it when we are sitting at the table or in our high chair. Kids who seek extra input may crash into things or spin in circles. They may do well sitting on a wiggle cushion or with a weighted lap blanket.

Medications

Many ADHD medications can affect appetite. If your child doesn’t feel hungry, they may be unwilling to try new foods. To help combat this, you can make sure to offer bigger meals prior to giving medication and then again once the medication wears off.

Head to FeedingMadeEasy.com and search for ADHD to see tips for how to help!

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