It Is Literally Saving Me Spoons: Autistic People’s Experiences of Eating and Feeding Disorders—A Photovoice Study

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Buchan, K., Maloney, E., Duffy, F., Sader, M., Nimbley, E., Kettley, S., Sharpe, H., & Gillespie-Smith, K. (2026). It Is Literally Saving Me Spoons: Autistic People’s Experiences of Eating and Feeding Disorders—A Photovoice Study. Autism in Adulthood, Article 25739581261482021. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581261482021

Publication date: 3 Sep 2026 Added to AutiHub: 5 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)
  1. Kyle Buchan
  2. Ellen Maloney *
  3. Fiona Duffy
  4. Michelle Sader
  1. Emy Nimbley
  2. Sarah Kettley
  3. Helen Sharpe
  4. Karri Gillespie-Smith

Abstract

Background: Despite the high prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) in Autistic people, few qualitative studies explore this overlap beyond Autistic women with anorexia nervosa (AN). Methods: We used Photovoice to explore the experiences of Autistic people with EDs across diverse genders and ED typologies. Our final sample included 14 Autistic individuals (male n = 3, female n = 8, gender-queer n = 3; m = 31.07 years). Participants completed five workshops across four groups (n = 20 group sessions), capturing images that best represented their ED experiences and discussing them with their group. We conducted content analysis on the images and inductive-reflexive thematic analysis on the workshop transcripts, Microsoft Teams messages, and image narratives. Results: Our analysis produced five key themes: (1) Autistic identity: how autism diagnoses shape ED experiences and perceptions of normality; (2) the “overwhelm bucket”: how cognitive and sensory overload trigger ED behaviors; (3) diagnostic intersectionality: how traits interact across Autism, EDs, and co-occurring diagnoses, complicating clinical separation; (4) “go without me” (social consequences): how ED-driven social withdrawal conflicts with a desire for reconnection; and (5) services and support: key barriers to accessing care, the necessity of autism-informed treatment, and the value of creative methods. Our findings align with existing Autistic-ED models while broadening representation to men, gender-diverse individuals, and people experiencing bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Conclusion: Our findings challenge deficit-based views of Autistic sociality, underscore how identity, overwhelm, and intersectionality shape ED experiences, and demonstrate the urgent need for autism-informed, community-led care that rejects neuronormative assumptions.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 27 Oct 2026 01:01.

Cited references
54
With a DOI
47
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
7
10 / 54 (18.5%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
2 / 54 (3.7%)
References with detected author names
52 / 54 (96.3%)
Without detected author names
2
Without a structured title
2
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
2
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
240
From DOI or external metadata
240
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
4
98 / 240 (40.8%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 142 / 240 (59.2%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
12 / 240 (5.0%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 12 / 98 (12.2%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 8 / 192 (4.2%).
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