Food selectivity and eating difficulties in adults with autism and/or ADHD.

The diagnoses were self-reported professional diagnoses and were not verified, so group differences should be read cautiously. The eating questionnaire was validated only up to age 25, but the study included adults aged 18 to 59. Participants were recruited through social media and snowball sampling, which may have selected people with a personal connection to autism, ADHD, or eating difficulties. The questionnaires were written at a sixth-grade reading level, so the results may not apply to adults with more limited verbal skills. The sample oversampled women and non-binary people, and gender was associated with eating difficulty scores. Eating disorder history was any lifetime diagnosis, not current diagnosis or specific type. The survey measured eating difficulties and traits at the same time, so it cannot show which came first or whether these traits cause eating problems.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication.

Do not read these results as proof that autism or ADHD causes eating difficulties. The study used a self-report survey, did not verify diagnoses, and measured traits and eating problems at the same time, so it cannot show cause.