Eating Disorders & Autism and ADHD
If you or your teenager is neurodivergent and also has an eating disorder or struggles with disordered eating, it can be hard to find the right support.
What is Neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence is a term that refers to people whose brains develop or work differently than what is considered “typical.” For example, you may have a diagnosis of autism or ADHD, or have a learning disability.
These differences can affect how you experience an eating disorder and eating difficulty, and not all therapists are equipped to provide specialty services.
What are some of these differences? (Note that all of the below can and do overlap – they are shown separately as a way to illustrate and simplify the differences.)
You’re not eating because…
ADHD: You’re not thinking about food, you forgot to eat, and/or you aren’t feeling your internal hunger signals.
Autism: You can only tolerate eating samefoods (eating the same food frequently or exclusively for days or months), having strong sensory differences that prevent you from having a wide variety of food to choose from, and preferring to be alone while eating but not being able to.
Eating disorder: You are restricting your food intake because you are trying to change your body size or shape, you are compensating for eating what you thought was too much, and you are following strict rules about what to eat and what not to eat, which is directly related to how you feel about your body.
You’re eating uncontrollably because…
ADHD: You forgot to eat all day because you were focused on other things and didn’t sense that you were hungry, and then suddenly feeling ravished and binging without being able to stop yourself.
Autism: You aren’t understanding how to sense or manage your hunger cues or aren’t finding enough food to eat that meets your sensory needs, so you binge because you eventually become very hungry.
Eating disorder: You’ve been restricting all day in order to reduce your caloric intake and you binge in the evening, or you are using food as a way to cope with strong or intolerable emotions and pain, and end up eating in a compulsive manner.
Autism and ADHD & Eating Disorders
I’m Lori, an occupational therapist who also provides psychotherapy for neurodivergent individuals who are struggling with:
an eating disorder
disordered eating
body image concerns
body dysmorphia
over exercising / compulsive exercising
an over-focus on “clean eating” or “health”
sensory differences
My sessions are very practical and combine talk therapy (psychotherapy) with occupational therapy (the practical application of skills to daily life). This can be especially important for you if you have a hard time generalizing therapy concepts to your daily life.
The practical application of skills in different situations can make all the difference between feeling like therapy doesn’t work (and you therapist doesn’t understand you) to successfully making changes in your life that make sense to you.
Sensory Differences and Eating Disorders
For those who have difficulty eating certain textures or tolerating certain smells, colours, sounds and tastes, sensory work can be highly beneficial.
I teach you how your sensory systems work, especially how they affect your ability to self-regulate and cope with distress. We start by exploring your sensory profile (what you’re over-responsive or under-responsive to) and relating this to food. This helps you try new foods and experiment with safe foods to expand your food variety.
We also work on skills like how to self-soothe, manage anxiety, and tolerate difficult sensations (like fullness after a meal) using a sensory approach. This is especially effective if you haven’t responded well to cognitive therapies.
My Rates
Initial assessment (first appointment - 1 hour): $200 CAD
Initial Parent(s’) session (50 minutes): $150 CAD
Follow up sessions (50 minutes): $150 CAD
Follow up parent(s’) sessions (25 minutes): $85 CAD
Follow up parent(s’) sessions (50 minutes): $150 CAD
Consultations for parents/families (50 minutes): $150 CAD
More information about extended health benefits and autism funding can be found on my Rates page.
Please contact me if you’d like to speak further. I offer a free, 15-minute phone call to go over logistics and answer any questions you may have. Otherwise, you can always email me to book your first appointment.