Beans, bulgur and boundaries: School meal challenges for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition or ADHD

Food-related challenges are common for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While schools are common settings for daily meals, little research has explored how students with these diagnoses experience school meals and how their eating practices interplay with organizational and cultural structures. This ethnographic study draws on five months of participant observation in four Swedish schools, including informal conversations and structured interviews with five 12-year-old boys diagnosed with ASC or ADHD, and their caregivers. Thematic analysis, informed by the social-relational model of disability, revealed challenges when the boys navigated school meals shaped by sustainability goals, frequently featuring plant-based dishes that differed markedly from meals at home. These tensions were influenced by sensory perceptions and preferences for routine, highlighting a mismatch between students’ needs and standardized school food systems. Eating difficulties varied, and were sometimes invisible, sometimes visible, depending on the context. At home, where minor adjustments could be made, challenges were less pronounced. In contrast, the school setting, with its structural constraints and collective solutions like standardized adjusted meals, made these difficulties more apparent. The study highlights the boundaries students encounter—sensory limits, normative expectations, and institutional rules—that shape their eating experiences in school.