Reclaiming Autistic Food Identity: Honoring Inner Experiences, Culture, and Choice
Honoring Autistic food identity with compassion, consent, and cultural context
This four-part course centers Autistic culture and food identity, offering a critical reframe of how Autistic eating experiences are understood and supported. Current narratives around food often pathologize Autistic preferences, needs, and embodiment with labels like “picky” or “rigid.” These deficit-based approaches not only dismiss unique—and at times complex—inner experiences, but also contribute to identity confusion, shame, and disconnection from the body.
Rather than asking Autistic people to change their eating patterns and preferences to meet neuronormative expectations, this course explores what it means to develop an authentic relationship with food that honours Autistic ways of being—and affirms that all unique relationships to food are valid and worthy of respect, while challenging harmful stereotypes around Autistic eating experiences.
Approved for 6 CPEUs by the CDR
Dates and Times:
August 28, September 4, 18, and 25
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM Eastern Time
Extended Access: Recording Available for 6 months
Open to professionals across disciplines and caregivers alike
Speakers: Naureen Hunani, RD and Kieran Rose
We Want To Help You Feel Confident In Supporting Your Neurodivergent Clients So You Can Grow Your Practice!
Meet the speakers!
Naureen Hunani is a multiply neurodivergent dietitian with over 18 years of clinical experience and the founder of RDs for Neurodiversity. She has a private practice in Montreal, Canada where she supports neurodivergent people of all ages struggling with feeding and eating challenges, including ARFID. Naureen has a particular interest in the intersection of neurodivergence and feeding differences. She is a supporter of early diagnosis of feeding differences and advocates for inclusion and acceptance. She has had the privilege to share her knowledge and expertise at national and international conferences.
In November 2023, she received the Nothing About Us Without Us Award from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Naureen is passionate about supporting pro-justice, HAES®-aligned professionals striving to build liberatory practices.
Kieran Rose is an internationally recognized Autistic author, academic researcher, and consultant with a background in SEND education and public service delivery. Diagnosed as Autistic in 2003 and a parent to three Autistic children, Kieran brings both personal and professional insights to his work. He is known for challenging stigma, deconstructing dominant autism narratives, and reframing understanding through an intersectional, affirming lens.
Kieran provides global training and consultancy to educators, clinicians, and institutions, supporting reflective practice and inclusive approaches to neurodivergence. He regularly lectures at UK universities and teaches across five programs at the Anna Freud Centre. His work includes training for NHS England, HSC Northern Ireland, and faculty roles with the STAR Institute (USA) and Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha (Spain).
His research spans Autistic masking, stigma, trauma, and identity development, with ongoing projects on monotropism, suicidality, and therapeutic experiences. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sunderland, and collaborates with UCL and Durham University.
Kieran co-authored the acclaimed book Autistic Masking with Dr. Amy Pearson. Outside of his work, he enjoys sci-fi, horror, cooking, and stargazing with his kids, and shares his writing with a global audience on The Autistic Advocate.