A mum has been posting videos of her son trying different foods on social media to raise awareness about the feeding challenges faced by parents with autistic children.<br /><br />Zachary is 26 and lives with autism and aphasia, a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioural challenges.<br /><br />Jennifer, Zach's mum, has been documenting her family's life on social media since April 2019 but it's not until 2021 that she started posting videos of Zachary trying all kinds of food.<br /><br />To Jennifer's surprise, the videos proved to be extremely popular, particularly with parents of autistic children.<br /><br />The videos of Zach trying foods have received millions of views on the social media platforms TikTok in Instagram - with their most popular video reaching over five million views.<br /><br />Zach’s reactions to the different textures and flavours have warmed hearts all over the internet as videos show him eating all kinds of foods from broccoli to steaks and even Vegemite!<br /><br />The US-based mom, who did not wish to reveal their location, said:<br /><br />“We did not consciously decide to start making videos about Zach eating. It was just us having fun on TikTok and it took off.<br /><br />“I am glad that people identify with Zach’s videos in some way. We hear from parents whose children are just diagnosed to specialists to fellow autistic adults.<br /><br />“It has become a wonderful supportive community; I hope for not only us but for others as well.<br /><br />“My two favourite videos are the vegemite video and the salmon video. Vegemite was a very daring experience. Salmon was a fun surprise. It was also a very loud environment for him.<br /><br />“There was so much already going on for him. It was very challenging, and I did not have any expectation that he would try it let alone like it.<br /><br />“I would like people to understand that Zach and other autistic people are doing the best they can. They aren’t 'being bad' or being stubborn.<br /><br />“Everything they do is for a reason, and that is to take care of themselves. It may be wearing a hat at the table, or chewing with their mouth open, or not being able to sit still at the table, and that’s okay.<br /><br />“I have also learned so much from other people. Just this week we posted a video about rice and other autistic adults described to me why they did not like rice.<br /><br />“They spoke about their safe foods and why they were their safe foods.<br /><br />“They are helping me to be a better parent and mother to Zach. I am so grateful for this opportunity.”
