Signs of Neurodivergence in Eating Disorders

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Research is beginning to uncover a link between neurodivergence and the development of eating disorders. Neurodivergent individuals’ minds work differently than what society has deemed the standard. For this reason, neurodivergent individuals experience differences in how they interpret, experience, and absorb the world around them.

Having to live in a world primarily designed for neurotypical people, neurodivergent individuals can face many challenges. Some of these challenges may come in the form of increased or decreased sensory sensitivities or difficulties identifying hunger and fullness cues. These challenges may create disordered eating patterns in some individuals, therefore placing them at a higher risk for developing an eating disorder.

Incorporating Neurodivergence into Treatment

Due to a lack of awareness among many healthcare professionals as to the signs of neurodivergence, many neurodivergent individuals undergoing eating disorder treatment may be receiving ineffective mental health care.

Impact of a Misdiagnosis

Due to a failure to recognize or acknowledge signs of neurodivergence, individuals may be diagnosed with or treated for a mental health condition they don’t have.

For example, autistic females are oftentimes misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder, depression, bipolar, or anxiety because of misconceptions regarding how autism presents in females. Therefore, the person's eating disorder may be treated alongside a personality disorder when, in reality, the individual has autism. A misdiagnosis can result in poor treatment outcomes and further damage to the individual's overall functioning and self-esteem.

Failure to Acknowledge a Previous Diagnosis

On the other hand, a failure to incorporate the knowledge of an individual's neurodivergence into their mental health treatment can also result in poor treatment outcomes. Meaning, if an individual who is already diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is seeking eating disorder treatment, it would be a disservice to the person’s treatment plan not to acknowledge the interaction of these two experiences in their care.

Neurodivergent individuals’ unique experiences of the world should be a key factor in their case conceptualization and treatment. Taking this holistic and humanistic approach offers the best result in their care as it brings into conversation how to make recovery an empowering and accessible option for each individual.

Signs of Neurodivergence in Eating Disorders

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An important step in incorporating the conceptualization of a person’s neurodivergence into their eating disorder treatment is being able to spot signs of neurodivergence in eating disorders. Below is a brief list of potential signs of neurodivergence among individuals with eating disorders.

Please note: This is by no means a comprehensive list. Rather, these are just a few examples that may be found among certain groups of individuals.

• Sticking to one type of texture (e.g., soft foods, crunchy foods)
• Avoiding cold foods
• Avoiding hot foods
• Only eating foods of a certain color palette (e.g., only tan foods, only red foods)
• Avoiding foods with a certain smell
• Refusing foods if small changes are made (e.g., new packaging, new brand, new presentation)
• Taking a long time to finish a meal
• Ingesting dirt, lotions, stones, or other objects
• Going long periods of time without remembering to eat or feeling hungry
• Eating alone or only in a certain location
• Going long periods of time without the awareness of hunger
• Eating large quantities of food after going long periods of time without awareness of hunger
• Developing a strong fixation on one, or a few, types of foods for a period of time

Additional Thoughts and Information

For more information on the correlation between eating disorders and neurodivergence, check out some of my other posts written on these topics.

• The Correlation Between Neurodivergence and Eating Disorders
• Autistic Traits and Eating Disorders
• Sensory Processing and Eating Disorders
• The Overlap Between Anorexia and Autism