Making Sense of Sensory – Week 5: Understanding Taste Sensitivities 👅

Food isn’t just about flavour, it’s about texture, temperature, smell, appearance, and how it feels in the mouth. For neurodivergent individuals, all of these factors can affect how safe, enjoyable, or overwhelming eating feels.

Taste Over-Sensitivity (Avoider) 🍝

Some people may experience taste hypersensitivity, where certain flavours, textures, or temperatures feel too intense. They may be very selective with what they eat or struggle with foods that are mixed, mushy, crunchy, or unpredictable.

Signs of over-sensitivity might include:

• Avoiding certain textures like mushy, lumpy, or crunchy foods

• Gagging or becoming distressed by strong flavours or smells

• Preferring very bland, plain foods

• Feeling anxious around unfamiliar meals or mixed foods

  
  

How to support:

• Offer plain, predictable foods without pressure to try new ones

• Serve food separately (no touching or mixing)

• Let the individual help prepare or plate their meal; it gives them more control

• Avoid food-based rewards or punishments

• Use visual menus or food charts to reduce anxiety and build confidence over time

  
  

Taste Under-Sensitivity (Seeker) 🍋

Others may be under-sensitive to taste, meaning they might need stronger flavours or more intense sensory input to feel satisfied or engaged with eating.

Signs of under-sensitivity might include:

• Seeking out very spicy, sour, or extreme flavours

• Chewing on non-food items (e.g. clothing, pencils)

• Preferring very crunchy or chewy textures

• Over-stuffing mouthfuls to gain more sensation

• Constantly snacking or eating to maintain sensory input

  
  

How to support:

• Offer strong flavours in safe ways (e.g. sour fruits, crunchy snacks)

• Use chewy or resistive foods during times of sensory need

• Try safe oral sensory tools like chewies or straws

• Ensure a structured mealtime routine to avoid constant grazing

• Keep a variety of textures available to meet sensory needs

  
  

Why It Matters 💬

Taste sensitivities can impact:

• Nutrition: Limited diets may make it harder to get a balance of nutrients

• Social inclusion: Mealtimes can become a source of stress or embarrassment

• Emotional well-being: Anxiety, control, and shame often show up around food

• Family routines: Parents may feel pressure to “fix” eating habits that are sensory-based

  
  

Understanding these sensory differences helps remove shame from eating challenges. Every person’s sensory system is unique, and no one should be forced to eat in ways that cause distress.

Food Isn’t Just Fuel 🧡

For neurodivergent individuals, food is deeply sensory and emotional. Whether someone avoids certain foods or seeks intense tastes, their eating habits are valid and deserve understanding, not judgment.

By creating pressure-free, sensory-safe food environments, we support comfort, confidence, and choice.

Next week, we’ll explore the sense of smell and how scents can calm, alert, or overwhelm. 👃