Autism and Healthy Eating: League School Celebrates National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month, and League School of Greater Boston spent the month educating students about the importance of healthy eating in fun and creative ways.

Obesity and diabetes are two widely recognized problems among individuals with autism, including students and young adults. With this in mind, students in the school’s culinary arts classes learned about the value of various fruits and vegetables and also ate healthy meals to experience the foods firsthand.

During the month, League School culinary arts teacher Marie Canesi invited classes to take part in various activities, such as keeping a food log to track how many fruits and veggies they eat in a week. To close out the month, students took a healthy food quiz and then took part in a scavenger hunt to find pictures of the foods hidden around the school.

Abundance Garden

Starting last year, the nearby Norfolk Agricultural High School graciously invited League students to their campus and allowed them access to a section of their field. Students have learned the steps necessary to farm and grow their own fruits and vegetables in a collaborative and hands-on environment, from clearing the field, planting seeds, watering and maintaining the area, to ultimately harvesting their own crops.

Within League School’s culinary arts program, students have turned their freshly grown produce into foods like salsa and tomato sauce, which has also served as an important reminder for the students about making healthy choices and portion control when eating.

League School thanks Norfolk Agricultural High School and looks forward to expanding the program this year.

Additional Resources

To learn more about nutrition information for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, view an article from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics here.