“This is crazy. They are a size 8/10! Just suck your belly in.”
Declan looked down at his belly and pulled it in. I pulled the sides of the shorts together and tried to secure the button.
I made my “Oh my goodness!” face which caused Declan to laugh. And his belly to come back out.
“Alright – let me get your shorts with the elastic waist. They will probably fit better.”
Once inside his elastic waist shorts, Declan sat down.
“They are kind of tight.”
I sighed, “Okay. Let me see if I can find Bobby’s hand me downs that are the next size up. Be right back.”
And I went to the storage closet to locate the bin of clothes that Bobby was wearing in 3rd and 4th grade.
Weight Gain Concerns in Children with Autism
This past year I noticed something in Declan that I had never seen before in my other two kids.
Declan was putting on weight. A lot of it.
And at the end of the year, my weight concerns were confirmed. The school does regular state mandated health screenings on the kids and then provides the parents with the results.
In short, here is what I saw for my guys.
Bobby’s BMI % for Age : 25%
Catelyn’s BMI % for Age : 25%
Declan’s BMI % for Age : 90%
Uh-oh.
How did this happen?
And I thought about all the sports that Bobby plays in. And the ones Cate does as well.
I thought about how after school Bobby will call his friends and head up to the park to play basketball. How Cate gets together with the kids on the street to ride bikes.
All while Declan watches YouTube videos. Or movies. Or plays on his Xbox.
Pretty much, Declan leads a pretty sedentary lifestyle. He’s just not as active and if coerced to go outside, he doesn’t stay too long.
I turned to the internet to read more about the subject. According to this article “Weight Gain a Challenge for Children with Autism” I read that children on the spectrum were more likely than peers to be overweight or obese.
In the article, Dr. Sonia Monterio states, “The most striking feature of this study is that differences in unhealthy weight status between typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder are apparent as early as preschool age” and lists contributing factors to include selective eating, decreased engagement in physical activity and use of medications.
The article, “Weighing up autism’s obesity crisis” states:
The research so far hints that obesity in people with autism is different from the general population. For one thing, weight problems in autism seem to follow a specific course: The pounds start to pile on at a younger age, and persist into adulthood more often. Many people on the spectrum have heightened senses, plus a fondness for routine, which makes them averse to new tastes and textures and susceptible to unhealthy eating patterns. And motor and social impairments, along with an affinity for screens, can limit physical activity.
Also, a 2014 study of more than 6,000 children and teenagers on the spectrum found that they are more than twice as likely to be overweight and nearly five times as likely to be obese as their typical peers.
If I don’t change things now, I can see that weight issues will be with Declan for a long time.
The articles did have some helpful ideas. Pretty much comes down to eat right, exercise more – and make these things part of his ROUTINE – since his routine is so important to him already.
I will certainly continue to try!
I would imagine that will be difficult 😬 when I was at my daughters today she said can you persuade the boys to have an apple and orange. So I made them a fruit salad each with apple, orange, grapes and raspberries with a tiny bit of ice cream. They loved it. You will have to play these changes carefully, I have no doubt you will succeed 🌹
Oh that’s a great idea! Even to put a bit of ice cream in as well. Thanks Elaine!
An interesting article Robyn.
i think also the fact that these days children on the spectrum with an overall reluctance to want to mix socially and that is not a derrogative statement either, it is just more comfortable being in your own bubble of familiarity but with the likes of the Internet and gaming on line as easy to go to forms of communication and sociality it is harder now for kids. They all become quite prone to inactivity and not just those on the spectrum.
I didn’t know l was on the spectrum when growing up, but l have never been specifically prone to weight gain – l didn’t have the Internet at my disposal, l wasn’t particularly sporty in the UK schools, although in the Australian schools l had a penchant for running and hurdling, but not the more commonly adored football. I did play hockey a lot as a kid, but when l returned to the UK, Whilst l still continued with running and hurdling until l injured my knee, l still didn’t participate in the more social sports.
l wasn’t even really that social to begin with. i had friends, but mostly stayed indoors with either reading, writing, drawing or wargaming in the loft. My Father always made me work in the garden, and l worked from 14 in catering and that was always busy, but previous to that wasn’t as said active.
My Mother always ensured l had a healthy diet, although when younger and still in many respects today l had no sense of moderation so a packet of biscuits could be swallowed in an entire sitting without even knowing it, unlike today when l am not allowed many sweet things due to stomach problems which in my late forties were associated with my Asperger’s anyway.
But l also agree with Elaine make fruit and vegetables exciting perhaps and maybe Declan will adopt them into his daily routine as acceptable.
When younger l never had the opportunity to NOT like vegetables as if l didn’t eat them, l was sent to bed with nothing or worse pending which parent was meting out the punnishment, so at first rather begrudgingly l hated vegetables and then learned to love them and was always keen to try new ones.
I think the problem is that there is ‘so much’ more to this than meets the eye, if not sensory issues, and if not social skills and if not physical activity, then stress and anxiety play a huge part as well. doesn’t matter really, it is always about balance which is the hardest thing of all due to the fact most of the time our brains are second guessing mostly everything, if not travelling at 90 miles an hour and inducing stress.
Good luck, l am sure you will find a creative way to make it happen 🙂
Rory
Thanks for sharing, Rory – and for your encouragement! I really appreciate it! 🙂
Pleasure, in fact are you okay with me sharing the post? I wanted to ask you first.
Of course! Thank you 🙂
At least you caught the problem before he entered into his teenage years! Have Spiderman challenge him in various activities that might help him lose a pound here and there. His fish interest might spark a swimming activity interest in him. That is about all I can come up with off the top of my head.
Yeah, me too! I was thinking the same thing – he loves to swim and will splash around for hours. And as long as I make sure I have good food always around – maybe he can drop a few here and there!
This is very interesting. I will definetely keep this in the back of my mind…
Thank you!