This 2020 study focuses on the largely unexplored relationship between food fussiness and sensory dysfunction in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Unusually high sensitivity to sensory information has been linked with food fussiness in both typical and atypical development. This present study looked at sensory sensitivity in 3 different neurodevelopmental disorders (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Tourette Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder), examining whether sensitivity can predict food fussiness in these disorders. The caregivers of the children reported each child’s food fussiness, food preferences and sensory sensitivity. Compared with typically developing children, kids with neurodevelopmental disorders were reported to have significantly higher levels of food fussiness and sensory sensitivity. Moreover, those with autism and Tourette’s syndrome showed markedly less food preferences for fruit than typically developing kids. In all four groups (including typically developing children), increased levels of smell/taste sensitivity predicted food fussiness. Taste/smell sensitivity also mediated the differences in food fussiness between each group of neurodevelopmental disorders and the TD group. In conclusion, food fussiness was found to be similar across attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tourette syndrome, autism spectrum disorder. The high prevalence of fussy eaters among children with neurodevelopmental disorders may be explained by their increased sensitivity to taste or smell.
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