Many parents with autistic children will know that mealtimes can often prove challenging.
Some autistic youngsters are known to have food selectivity, meaning they opt for starches and snack foods over fruits and vegetables.
This selective eating may be down to factors including sensitivity to smell, temperature, texture and colour.
Struggling to get his two-year-old son Beo to eat fruit and veggies, Chris Hutchinson is a parent who knows this battle well.
READ MORE: 'I always dreamed of being a mum - I was told autism would stop me'
The Bolton dad says his son mostly only eats jam sandwiches and chocolate-flavoured foods – sometimes choosing other carbs such as mashed potato, pasta and rice.
Solicitor Chris, 37, says the tot will “very rarely” eat a meal with nutrients in, such as a Sunday roast mashed up into a puree consistency.
However, if he feels any lumps in the food, he will spit it out and refuse to eat any more.
This problem has often meant the tot will go a full day without eating anything – something Chris describes as a “big worry”.
“There’s no consistency with him,” the dad-of-five told the Manchester Evening News.
“He won’t eat anything that’s hard and has to be fed. In terms of foods he eats, it’s usually carbs, which is why I want to get protein into him.
“My wife will make plate after plate and he turns them all down. It’s a big worry. We’ve just got used to the fact that just because he won’t eat anything today doesn’t mean he won’t tomorrow.
“He can eat loads one day and nothing the next. His food also has to be perfectly lukewarm otherwise he will scream as though you’ve scolded him. We’re hoping with time, he will adapt and try new things.”
Although he has not yet officially been diagnosed, Beo’s family suspect he may be on the autistic spectrum.
“He was very slow to start making any verbal communication,” Chris said. “He wasn’t making any attempt. I thought it was because he was a lockdown baby, but my wife noticed little things.
“We even had his hearing tested because he wasn’t responding. When he did start to talk, he was only putting the odd word together.”
Desperate for Beo to eat protein, Chris tried to find a book promoting the benefits of eating meat so he could read it to his son.
When he couldn’t find one, he decided to create one himself, calling it ‘Beo is hungry’.
A pro-meat book for young children to explain the benefits and source of eating meat, Beo encounters various animals from elk, beef, chicken, pork, duck and more.
“I found an illustrator online and got it finished mid-March,” Chris added. “It’s early days as I’ve only had it a few weeks, it’ll just take time. Beo likes the book.”
The book, which is available for sale on Amazon for £6.99, has currently sold 20 copies – some in Europe and one in Australia.
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