Autism and ED’s can overlap in ways that are incredibly difficult to recognize, especially when you don’t know you’re autistic. Some behaviors can look like “ED behaviors” on the surface, but the reason behind them may actually be related to autism. For me, that can look like: needing food prepared or presented in very specific ways; sensory sensitivities to textures, smells, temperatures, or combinations of foods; needing foods separated rather than mixed together; needing certain foods to be cut or arranged a particular way; struggling to eat when there is too much sensory input around me; needing predictability and sameness around food; difficulty with changes in how a familiar food is prepared; having very specific sensory preferences around drinking And this is where I think the overlap between autism and eating disorders becomes SO important. Research has found significant overlap between autistic traits and ED’s, especially restrictive ED’s. Autism-related characteristics such as sensory sensitivities, cognitive rigidity, need for sameness, and difficulties with flexibility can directly affect eating behaviors. The problem is that if those behaviors are automatically interpreted as ED behaviors, we can sometimes miss the reason they’re happening in the first place. And that may be one reason some autistic people don’t respond to traditional ED treatment in the way clinicians expect. It isn’t necessarily that they don’t WANT to recover. Sometimes the treatment itself isn’t addressing all of the things affecting their ability to eat. For example, if a sensory need is interpreted only as an ED rule, simply telling someone to “break the rule” doesn’t necessarily address the sensory processing difference underneath it. If rigidity or a need for predictability is interpreted only as resistance, pushing harder may actually make the person more overwhelmed rather than helping them become more flexible. If communication differences aren’t recognized, a patient may also have difficulty explaining WHY something about food feels impossible or intolerable. Research has found that autistic people with ED’s can experience poorer treatment experiences and that standard treatment approaches may need adaptations to better accommodate sensory sensitivities, cognitive differences, communication needs, and rigidity. A 2025 systematic review of the lived experiences of autistic people with restrictive ED’s found that autism-related mechanisms contributing to restrictive eating are not consistently recognized or addressed in current care, highlighting the need for adapted or novel interventions and better clinician training. That doesn’t mean autism makes an ED untreatable. It means treatment may need to be individualized. For someone who is autistic, recovery may involve asking different questions: “What sensory needs are affecting this behavior?” “What makes this food feel safe or unsafe?” “Is this restriction driven by ED thoughts, sensory processing, or both?” “What accommodations could make eating more accessible?” “How can we challenge the eating disorder without unnecessarily removing accommodations that help this person eat?” Because sometimes the goal isn’t to make an autistic person eat in the exact same way a neurotypical person does; The goal is to help them eat enough, nourish their body, and recover from the eating disorder in a way that works with their brain rather than constantly fighting against it. ❤️ Sometimes individualized treatment isn’t about making recovery easier. It’s about making recovery possible. 🧩❤️ #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptance #acceptance #MentalHealth - @monieelyse