‘HOW I EAT A NUTRITIOUS AND ENJOYABLE DIET AS AN AUTISTIC PERSON’

Lydia Wilkins is a freelance journalist who specialises in disability and social inequality issues. Her book, The Autism-Friendly Cookbook, is aimed at autistic adults and teens to turn to when cooking for friends, lacking inspiration, or on those low-energy days. Here, she tells Women's Health why she created a community for autistic people, like her – and how she’s been using her diet to support her symptoms.

I was diagnosed... with what was then called ‘Aspergers Syndrome’ in 2015. I was two months shy of turning 16, and it validated what I had always known – that I was different, and that this was not just teenage angst. It had been a three-and-a-half-year process, owing to a lot of medical professionals not really listening or believing – on the basis that a woman can ostensibly not be Autistic. (Newsflash: that’s not true!)

I was given the ‘why’, but never the ‘what’ or ‘how’ to cope, or what accommodations to make, let alone any help in recognising the law entitles me to legal accommodation. It took me five years to even start to realise that I needed help, as there had been no future planning for me after leaving education.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is... a neurological condition that primarily impacts communication and socialising; it may mean a person has a special interest, may become upset or anxious about unfamiliar situations or events, and may take longer to process information. It is not an illness or a disease; all it means is that your brain works differently. It is also a part of the umbrella term Neurodiversity, which is used to describe a host of conditions, including; ADHD, OCD, Dyspraxia, and others. It’s also likely there may be an overlap with one or more co-morbid conditions; the law also states that this is a disability.

According to the NHS, Autistic people may:

- find it hard to communicate and interact with other people

- find it hard to understand how other people think or feel

- find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable

- get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events

- take longer to understand information

- do or think the same things over and over

Since then, I’ve learned... that through the course of meeting people like me, we are not the problem. There are often arbitrary barriers of no reason or rhyme, especially when it comes to food. I was told I could ‘just learn’ how to do particular tasks without assistance – therefore, I could ‘just learn’ to be ‘normal’. That’s a harmful expectation, one without understanding or empathy. Research suggests that autistic people are more likely to experience significant mental health issues, like depression, for example, than those who are not autistic.

At the start of the first lockdown... I found that there was a generational skills gap; women are diagnosed later on in life and are often missed. So many people were struggling in the kitchen, often with a very unhealthy diet – all because they did not ‘know’ themselves.

Newspapers often report ‘a rise’ in eating disorders – but always seem to fail to point out research is suggesting more and more that this generational ‘gap’ is a key cause. I wrote The Autism Friendly Cookbook to open up this space in contextualising the issues while compiling 100 recipes – 30 are from other Autistic people. It has won two awards, gone viral on TikTok, and is being adapted into a person-led, Neurodiversity affirming course where I live. It’s the book I wish I had been given when I was diagnosed.

Autistic people can often struggle to tolerate different tastes, textures, appearances, and smells of food. Sometimes, there may also be a fear of swallowing or choking. This can impact on the variety of foods that they eat.

As a result of my diagnosis... I was able to assert myself and acquire the support I required, since I had the basic documentation. This is a privilege in that diagnosis is hard to access, not just because of underfunding; bias exists on gender and race grounds. It is not a ‘golden ticket’. These are ‘people’ I love dearly; I am lucky to have the support I need. I write for them, I have a need to create food-based resources for them. If you are given a chance, all you can do is to ‘tell the best story’ possible – and there is a power in knowing yourself well enough, to unpick an issue. To have one person read the book is a privilege, but now I want to go further.

Now I eat... with a lot of strategies and lists in place. I struggle specifically with interoception issues, like a lot of Autistic people; to know if you are hungry or thirsty is almost impossible. And hyper-fixations mean you can go longer periods without tapping into this vital sense; it is a risk to mental, physical and emotional health. I struggle to organise myself sometimes, so I have a lot of lists and I stock up on my preferred ‘safe foods’; a limited diet that is healthy is not a crime, either.

Many autistic people have favourite foods that they feel safe and comfortable eating consistently. When foods always look and taste the same, this can reduce food-related anxiety.

The one thing I want you to know is... that an Autistic person cannot ‘just learn’; this assumption is actively harmful. We can get the skills needed, but they need to be ‘topped up’ often, and practised with compassion, in an accessible environment. There is no right way to ‘do’ food, such as in the socially acceptable way of how to eat, how to buy or acquire food.

If you think you or your child needs help from a health professional, speak to a GP or the assessment team that diagnosed you. They may be able to refer you to a specialist who can help, such as; an occupational therapist, a speech and language therapist, and a mental health specialist.

Lydia Wilkins’ The Autism-Friendly Cookbook, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers (Nov 2022).

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