AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) NUTRITION SUPPORT
Understanding nutrition for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder requires specialised support and expertise. At My Nutrition Clinic, our experienced Gold Coast dietitians provide evidence-based nutrition care tailored to your child’s unique needs. As Medicare-registered and NDIS-approved providers, we understand the challenges families face and offer comprehensive support to help your child thrive.
Common Nutrition Challenges with ASD:
Children with ASD often experience unique sensory responses to food, including:
- Texture sensitivities
- Color or appearance preferences
- Temperature sensitivities
- Brand-specific preferences
Our dietitians work with your child to gradually expand their food acceptance while respecting their sensory needs. Listed below are some of the common ways we help families to address some of the nutritional challenges.
Limited Food choices are common, and we help by:
- Identifying current accepted foods
- Creating strategies to introduce new foods
- Ensuring nutritional adequacy
- Supporting families with practical mealtime strategies
Mealtime Behaviors can be challenging for children and parents. Our approach includes a range of strategies that work toward:
- Establishing routine and structure
- Creating positive mealtime environments
- Managing food refusal
- Supporting family mealtimes
Meeting nutritional needs ensures your child thrives physically and mentally so our sessions include :
- Comprehensive nutritional assessment
- Targeted supplementation when needed
- Creative meal planning
- Practical food alternatives
Expected outcomes and benefits:
Mealtime Progress
- Reduced anxiety around new foods
- Calmer mealtimes for the whole family
- Gradual expansion of accepted foods
- More enjoyable family dining experiences
Nutritional Improvements
- Better overall nutrient intake
- Improved energy levels
- Support for healthy growth
- Reduced reliance on supplement drinks (where appropriate)
Family Benefits
- Practical strategies that work at home and school
- Less stress around food preparation
- Confidence in managing food challenges
- Time-saving meal planning techniques
Development Support
- Better concentration through balanced nutrition
- Support for physical development
- Enhanced mealtime social skills
- Improved self-feeding skills where needed
Your path to nutrition support:
Starting your nutrition journey with us is straightforward:.
Book your consultation
- Call us on 07 5533 8866
- Choose between in-clinic or telehealth appointments
- Wait times vary from 1-4 weeks
Initial Assessment
- Detailed dietary evaluation
- Sensory preference assessment
- Nutritional adequacy review
- Family mealtime assessment
- Growth and development monitoring
Ongoing support
- Progress monitoring
- Strategy adjustment
- Recipe modifications
- Ongoing family support
Choose your dietitian
Tess Prendergast
Dietitian
Tess is an Accredited Practising Dietitian who graduated from Griffith University and grew up in Queensland. Tess is passionate about working with people and building trusting relationships by providing accurate nutrition information that helps people reach their goals. Tess is great at making people feel at ease talking about their diet and health goals and is great at explaining how food and nutrition impact health. Tess has an interest in:
IBS and other gastrointestinal conditions
Weight management
Endometriosis
Women's health
Chronic disease management
Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN)
Jacqui Palmer
Paediatric Dietitian
Jacqui has been a Dietitian for 20 years in both Queensland and London. Jacqui has worked in some of London’s largest hospitals and witnessed such courage and determinate in the children she helped that she became committed to improving their quality of life though better nutrition. In London, Jacqui worked as a clinical paediatric dietitian at the prestigious Royal London, St Barts and Lewisham Hospitals. Jacqui has developed significant experience in complex allergies, faltering growth, gut health and Autistic Spectrum disorder. Please note that Jacqui offers telehealth appointments only. We find that this works well with busy parents and children feel more comfortable.
Specialist areas:
Fussy eaters
Growth and weight issues
Food allergies and intolerances
Autism and spectrum disorders
Gut issues in children
Further reading about managing weight
Plan for an empty lunchbox and take the sting out of getting ready for school
Plan a weekly lunchbox menu together with your kids using a few easy steps Step [...]
20
Jan
Jan
ADHD – is diet at the helm?
ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder presents with restlessness, poor concentration and impulsive behaviour. A [...]
17
Jul
Jul
What is the difference between an allergy and an intolerance?
An allergic reaction involves the immune system whilst an intolerance does not. An intolerance is [...]
26
Apr
Apr
What is a food allergy?
A food allergy is when your immune system is stimulated by a particular protein in [...]
23
Apr
Apr
Mealtimes together
You have probably heard a hundred times that it is important to eat together as [...]
15
Apr
Apr
