Perspectives on the use of a nutritious child-friendly meal recipe kit in neurodivergent families

Autistic children often display atypical eating behaviours including heightened sensitivity to food texture and appearance. These behaviours can result in limited dietary variety, increasing the risk of nutritional deficiencies and poor health outcomes. Childhood eating difficulties can also increase familial stress. This study examined the impact of a meal recipe kit intervention within neurodivergent households, assessing changes to emotions and eating behaviours including the willingness to try new foods and engage in cooking, and the development of social, numeracy and literacy skills. Eighteen participants took part in the evaluation of this pilot trial including eight parents, eight autistic children, one neurodivergent young adult, and one teacher. Reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed four main themes: sensory preferences; restrictive eating; benefits to children, and wider impacts on family and community. Sensory preferences including aversion to different food textures and restrictive eating that removed or severely limited intakes of foods were common prior to taking part in the intervention. Benefits to children related to enhanced positive emotional experiences around food and an increased willingness to try new and previously disliked foods. In addition, greater confidence and cooking competence was reported, as well as perceived benefits in applied numeracy and literacy. Benefits for families and the wider community included enhancing family bonding and quality time spent together. Overall, engaging in the intervention improved eating behaviours in families, buffering sensory preferences and facilitating greater family cohesion in neurodivergent households.