Food and Neurodivergence : Beyond Fussy Eating

In this session we'll explore eating habits, sensory challenges, and how we can use food to help regulation and improve wellbeing. Although some Neurodivergent adults do take care of their emotional and physical wellbeing and seek help if and when they need it, others face a range of barriers when doing so which can make them reluctant to reach out. Negative past experiences when working with professionals can also have a huge impact on whether someone chooses to reach out, alongside a distinct lack of provision specifically for Neurodivergent people. The Hosts My:ND Space CIC is specifically led by, and for Neurodivergent people. We feel that this is especially important to be able to fully empathise, truly understand, and to be able to offer the right kind of support. We are working alongside Jen from Body.Brain.Belief CIC, to bring you the first session we've ever hosted about our eating habits as Neurodivergent adults. We'll be looking at sensory preferences, safe foods, textures and tastes, then explore how we can build more nutrition around what's already working for us. Jen who set up Body.Brain.Belief CIC will be leading on this session. She says: "For years I felt so much shame around food as a Neurodivergent person. I wanted to eat healthily, but my sensory struggles made it really challenging, and I was always labelled 'a fussy eater'. At Body.Brain.Belief, we now take a 'what can we add' approach to eating, but also make eating foods that makes us feel good, as easy as possible. Food can be a great tool for regulation when we have the right support, especially for us Neurodivergent folk. In this session, I will share the tools we use at Body.Brain.Belief around food and eating habits, so we get the most from food that we can. And because we love creativity for calm, there'll obviously be a creative element sprinkled in too." The session will run from 7pm - 9pm. Please try to arrive on time to avoid any disruption. Refreshments are provided for you to enjoy - donations towards these are always welcome. If you have any special dietry requirements, please feel free to bring your own drinks / snacks. PLEASE NOTE - We ask for a ticket contribution of £5 (excluding booking fee) for this session to help us cover some of our ever growing operational costs. Spaces are limited and in high demand. If you do book and can't make it for any reason please do let us know in advance so we can offer the space to someone else. We have a strict refund policy of up to 7 days. If you cancel after this time we won't be able to issue a refund.