NEUROINCLUSIVE FOOD LITERACY: RETHINKING FOOD EDUCATION BEYOND NEUROTYPICAL STANDARDS

Abstract

Contemporary food education is increasingly framed through the concepts of Food Literacy and health promotion. However, many educational approaches continue to rely on implicit neurotypical assumptions regarding sensory regulation, flexibility in eating behaviors, and participation in shared food environments. Within this framework, food selectivity in autistic individuals is often interpreted through deficit-oriented or behavioral perspectives, while the embodied, sensory, and emotional dimensions of eating remain marginal.

Starting from the neurodiversity paradigm and from recent reflections on inclusive pedagogy, this contribution proposes a critical re-reading of food literacy through the lens of sensory accessibility and neuroinclusion. The paper explores how educational practices related to food -particularly in school and community contexts -may unintentionally reproduce exclusionary dynamics by promoting normative models of eating and adaptation. Particular attention is given to the role of sensory processing, predictability, environmental overstimulation, and social pressure during meals, with reference to experiences frequently associated with autism and sensory sensitivity.

The contribution is positioned within the fields of inclusive pedagogy, food education, and embodied learning. Through a theoretical and interdisciplinary analysis, the study connects literature on Food Literacy, neurodiversity, sensory processing, and inclusive educational practices in order to identify critical issues and possible directions for more accessible food education frameworks. The discussion highlights how apparently ordinary educational practices -such as forced tasting, rigid meal routines, or the moralization of “healthy eating” - may become sources of distress and symbolic exclusion for neurodivergent individuals.

The paper argues for the development of a neuroinclusive approach to Food Literacy, grounded in flexibility, sensory awareness, emotional safety, and non-stigmatizing educational communication. Rather than promoting standardized eating behaviors, inclusive food education should recognize the plurality of embodied relationships with food and support accessible participation in food-related experiences. In this sense, sensory accessibility emerges not as an individual accommodation, but as a broader pedagogical and cultural issue connected to educational equity and inclusion.