Why are autistic people picky eaters?

(and there's a lot of reasons they might be)

We need to eat to survive but
eating is a huge sensory experience involving most of our senses in some way.

It's not a surprise then that some autistic people find eating hard!

Senses

Touch through the food's texture and consistency.

Sight through its color and its shape.

Taste if it's spicy, strong, or a mixture.

Smell to tell whether it's bland or flavourful.

Our proprioceptive sense that allows us to feel our muscles when biting and chewing.

Our internal, interoceptive sense that tells us when we're hungry or when we're bloated.

Eating also involves our senses of temperature and nociception, our sense of pain.