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The list of eating disorders that can be prevalent among Autistic people includes anorexia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and avoidant or restrictive food intake. You may find that your Autistic daughter refuses to eat specific foods. I, for instance, have a big aversion to fruit, one that began in my early childhood. Some scientists believe that the relationship between Autistic traits and eating disorders can be partially attributed to alexithymia—an impaired ability to be aware of, explicitly identify, and describe one’s feelings. Across the spectrum of eating disorders, people report having difficulties recognizing or describing their emotions. Alexithymia is more prevalent among females than males, and it can be present not only among Autistic people and neurotypical people with eating disorders, but also among those with OCD, PTSD, and schizophrenia (Westwood et al. 2017).
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Taylor Eberstadt (Raising an Autistic Girl: Modern ASD Strategies for Successful Parenting: Help Your Child Succeed in a Neurotypical World for a Life of Success on the ... (5–11-year-olds) (Autism in Girls Series))