Food and Festivities
Date Published: December 1, 2022
Author: Jennie Brevik, RBT
Throughout the year, we gather with our loved ones to celebrate holidays and important events. When we gather with our loved ones, we will enjoy meals as part of the celebrations, and during these celebrations, your child may be exposed to new and unfamiliar foods. Before you gather with family and friends, consider taking these steps to encourage your child to try new foods:
Prime them before the event: Prior to attending the event, you can talk with your child or read social stories about eating new foods.
Offer choices: When picking out food for your children, choose two or three dishes that you think they will enjoy. Before putting the food on the plate, allow your child to choose what they want to eat.
Model eating the food: By eating the food in front of your child, this will model the behavior you want your child to engage in.
Take it one step at a time: Before you start having your child take bites of a new food, consider taking smaller steps. This can be done by having them touch, smell, or lick the food as these can help desensitize them to new stimuli.
Positive reinforcement: When your child takes steps towards eating a new food, provide them with praise, access to a preferred item, or a bite of a highly preferred food.
As an ABA team, we are aware of the challenges that can come with introducing new foods to your child’s routine. If you would like assistance with how to implement these steps into your child’s routine, feel free to discuss this with their BCBA over CentralReach or at your next caregiver collaboration meeting.
Additional Resources:
The holiday season comes with changes in routine and expected activities. This can be confusing to a child on the autism spectrum. Using social stories to help children prepare for the holidays may ease the anxiety that comes with change and transition. To learn more about Social Stories, visit porchlighteducation.org/social-stories/
Our Porchlight Education Autism Series also offers the following:
About the Author:
Jennie Brevik is a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) on the Faces Behavioral Services team. Faces Behavioral Services is a department of the Pacific Autism Center for Education that supports children with autism in reaching their full potential utilizing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
Disclaimer: “Keeping Up the PACE” is a blog operated by Pacific Autism Center for Education with information provided by professional therapists. This content is not intended for the purpose of diagnosis of any condition. If you have a question for our team, please email us at email hidden; JavaScript is required.