A new study has found that girls with autism are suffering more from eating issues than boys. Autism spectrum disorder is a complex condition that affects almost everyone differently. Every child with autism is unique and has different needs and struggles, and that is why care needs to be individualized to fit the needs of the individual child. However, there can usually be commonalities that can be found across the board. Eating issues is something that is common across the autism community, but girls may be more susceptible to them.
Studies and research are important, as they are the pathway to care, and if researchers can pinpoint markers and trends then care and attention can be increased. According to US News and Medical Xpress, eating issues in children with autism are seen more in girls.
The study was done by Swedish researchers, and their goal was to determine whether being male or female had an influence on eating issues. Karl Lundin Remnelius is a Ph.D. student at Karolinska Institutet and an author of the study. He stated that they did not study the genetic difference between males and females, but that they did look at this association. They wanted to know if there was a connection between gender and eating issues in autism.
They found that there was and that this can have a large impact on social isolation for females with autism. When it came to specific issues, they found that this was most noted in girls when it came to social settings.
Girls reported that they found it difficult to eat when they were with friends, at school, at work, or even in a restaurant. In fact, these were the only issues that females seemed to have when it came to eating. This can have an impact on a girl’s physical health as well as her mental health if it causes her to isolate from society in order to eat.
However, they did state that more research needs to be done to look into the exact cause of this social aversion to eating. They said that what they don’t know is if this is caused by autism or if there is another factor at play that could be causing it. Regardless, it is beneficial for families and medical providers to take this information into account and work with a child on making sure they are comfortable when it comes to eating.
Sources: US News, Medical Xpress