Managing meal times at school

Mealtimes for students with Autism can be challenging at home and at the school due to fussy eaters, picking behaviours, children not wanting to sit next to one another, children not being able to sit for long periods of time or due to sensory issue. Many students can experience anxiety about sitting at the table, eating in new environment or simply different arrangement of the food items on the plate.

"It can be helpful to have a visual mealtime schedule which either goes through the expectations such as: sitting on chairs or listening to one another, or goes through each step including eating, talking and leaving the table so they are aware of what is coming next."

If the students continue to struggle to sit and eat at school it helps to engage them in parts of the meal that has nothing to do with the eating such as setting up the table, food preparation and cleaning up.

This is an example of a visual forewarning I use in my class to help some of my students to overcome the stress of the mealtimes. Visual schedule promotes students independence and informs them of what is coming next.

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Ariella Lew Bsc ( Paediatric Nursing) Kids on Track Consultancy

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