The Relationship Between Eating Pathologies and Restricted, Repetitive Behaviours and Interests in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Individuals with ASD frequently suffer from an eating pathology. Both disordered eating and eating problems have each been reported in the literature to be more prevalent in individuals with ASD than in those with typical development and repetitive behaviors are often featured in these conditions. Food selectivity, the most prevalent eating problem among children with ASD, has been found to be strongly related to sensory processing disorders, part of the ASD diagnostic criteria for restricted, and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (RRBI). Other manifestations of RRBI in the eating setting include insistence on specific methods of food preparation, food types, and mealtime rules. This chapter reviews the literature on the relation between eating pathologies, including eating disorders and eating problems, and RRBI, in individuals with ASD. A growing body of evidence supports the relation between the higher and lower order RRBI and a range of eating problems seen in ASD, with a clear role of sensory impairment as well as cognitive and motor delays on food selectivity, all of which may represent underlying mechanisms. Since limited studies have explored the range of eating problems and RRBI, research is required to understand the role of higher and lower order RRBI in eating problems to gain further insight into understudied areas such as over and compulsive eating. Future research should explore the different domains of RRBI and eating problem types and their relationships, with the goal of deepening knowledge and supporting clinicians in tailoring interventions for children with ASD.