@KatyElphinstone

Things parents should know:

Sensory stuff can hugely exaggerate tiny(to you) differences in textures or flavours. This means that even a safe food can be wrong if cooked differently, prep'd differently or even just left too long (cold/hot affects textures and mouthfeel). Different brands might as well be different products. Mixing foods affects textures 'ruining' them.

Fruit and veg can vary in feel/texture withal/ripeness, so can easily trigger texture sensitivities.

worst for me was 'but you like *this* food' - it was different and wrong, but I didn't have the language to understand *why* and how it was different (texture variations, or mixed textures are a huge turnoff for me).

To reduce stress at mealtimes, focus on consistency and predictability.
Same plate, forks, cups is a cheap way to help sameness.
Use kitchen timers and microwaves to maintain same cooking times.
Don't 'experiment' with recipes unless planned, or provide a safe option (e.g. split and experiment with just half).

Beware contamination and 'bits' - finding a bone or gristle can put me off a food for weeks.

use a stick blender to create soups, and adjust texture/consistency with boiling water to keep things the same. I can deal with quite a range of tastes, it's the textures that trigger me.

#ActuallyAutistic