They tried it, they love it. You tried it, you don't.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Well, if people have stronger sensitivity to salty, sweet, bitter or sour, it seems like that would effect how taste in total is perceived.

You can come to my house to see this in action. We had macaroni (real, not from a box) even though we know son won't touch it. Something about the texture is so off-puting to him. How specifically does it affect the nervous system?

The sensory integrative theory is that people with autism process sensory information differently than other people. Temple Grandin describes this well with sounds that were actually painful to her because of how she processed them. Usually, it is stimuli that over-excite the central nervous system. Chewing something really chewy like Tootsie Rolls is usually calming to the CNS. The things we do to calm babies (rocking, neutral warmth, wrapping in a blanket, low light, etc) are calming to the CNS. Strobe lights, music with a beat faster than a heart beat, spinning.. all excitatory stimuli. Generally, if a texture in the mouth excites the CNS, it will bother the person with autism. Sometimes pairing it with other stimuli that calms the CNS can re-train how their brain is processing it so it's not so aversive. Sometimes introducing it in small amounts can help desenstize the aversive stimulus too. Fascinating stuff, truly. Lorna Jean King, the OT who did the most research into this area worked with Temple Grandin and that's how I ended up hearing Temple Grandin speak. It was the single most eye opening lecture I've ever attended. It's a gift that she is so talented at describing her experiences. I always sort of regret not getting certified in Sensory Integration, but I used a lot of the techniques with ADHD kids that I worked with (and a few kids with mild autism) and got amazing results in improving their attention spans. The two disorders are not dissimilar.

Originally Posted by KSigkid

Agreed - you can find good family-owned places in most cities and towns that are better than the chains. That goes especially for Olive Garden; go to the local pizza joint, and you'll get better quality Italian food.

The one chain place that I truly do enjoy though is Carrabas. I was shocked that it was a chain because their food is really good. It's still not quite as good as three of the Mom & Pop Italian places locally (PM_Mama's family's restaurant is THE BEST), but it's still very very good.