Food insecurity in the households of children with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities in the United States: Analysis of the National Survey of Children's Health Data 2016-2018.
Food insecurity hits ASD+ID families at double the rate—screen at intake and connect to SNAP/WIC.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Karpur et al. (2021) looked at a big national health survey. They asked if families of kids with autism plus intellectual disability run out of food more often. They compared these families to families whose kids have no disability.
The team used data from 2016-2018. They checked how many families answered yes to food-insecurity questions.
What they found
Families of children with both ASD and ID had double the odds of food insecurity. That means twice as many run out of food or skip meals. The study did not give exact numbers, but the gap is large.
How this fits with other research
Miltenberger et al. (2013) showed kids with ASD already eat less calcium and protein. Arun’s finding helps explain why: the whole household may lack food.
Jackson et al. (2025) looked at COVID-19 relief. Even with extra SNAP and WIC help, autistic kids gained less food security than peers. This extends Arun’s point: the gap stays wide even when help expands.
Ouyang et al. (2014) found ASD+ID families lose more work income. Together with Arun, the picture is clear: these families face both job loss and empty cupboards.
Why it matters
You now have a two-step action: first, ask every ASD+ID family at intake if they have enough food. Second, hand them SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid forms before they leave. One screening question can link them to groceries and cash the same day.
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Join Free →Add one question to your intake form: 'In the past year, did you run out of food before you had money to buy more?' If yes, hand the caregiver SNAP and WIC phone numbers.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Families of children with autism spectrum disorder are more likely to experience financial strain and resulting food insecurity due to additional cost of care, disparate access to needed services, and loss of income resulting from parental job loss. Utilizing nationally representative data, this analysis indicates that the families of children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring intellectual disabilities are twice as likely to experience food insecurity than families of children without disabilities after adjusting for various factors. Several factors, ranging from state-level policies such as Medicaid expansion to individual-level factors such as higher utilization of emergency room services, were associated with the higher prevalence of food insecurity in families of children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring intellectual disabilities. Implications of these findings on programs and policies supporting families in the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2021 · doi:10.1177/13623613211019159