What you eat can change everything — especially if you're neurodivergent

I have worked with hundreds of people with disability. I eat with them. I sit with them. And every time, I quietly watch what many of them put into their bodies — and I feel a deep concern that I can't quite shake.

Because I know something that not enough people are being told: the food on that plate is either working for them or against them. And for someone with ASD, ADHD, anxiety or learning delays, the difference is not small. It can be the difference between a life of struggling and a life of thriving.

Most families and carers are doing the best they can with the information, time, budget, stress and support they have. But many have never been shown how food can affect the brain.

First, let's talk about the numbers

This is not a small issue. In Australia, the numbers are staggering — and growing rapidly:

•       In 2022, 290,900 Australians were reported as autistic — a 41.8% increase from 2018.

•       Australian ADHD guidance estimates that at least 800,000 Australians live with ADHD, and national prescribing data show that just under 600,000 patients received ADHD-related medications in 2023-24 (with medication prescriptions up 300% in ten years)

•       An estimated 15–20% of Australian school students are neurodivergent — classrooms are full of kids who are struggling, and most of their families have never been told about the role of nutrition

•       In 2025, 1,125,502 Australian school students received an educational adjustment due to disability, representing 27% of total school enrolments— a 40% increase since 2017.

These numbers matter because behind every statistic is a child, teenager, adult or family trying to function in everyday life. Many are navigating overwhelm, anxiety, fatigue, sleep challenges, gut symptoms, selective eating, emotional dysregulation and difficulty with focus.

These conditions are complex and multifactorial — genetics, environment and neurology all play a role. But one factor that is too often overlooked, and that every family has the power to change, is nutrition.

The connection most people don't know about

I want you to think about three things when it comes to a neurodivergent brain:

🧠  Nutritional status

Is the brain getting what it needs to function? Key nutrients like omega-3, zinc, magnesium, iron and B vitamins are essential for focus, calm and mood.

🦠  Gut health

The gut and brain are directly connected. When the gut is inflamed or unhealthy, it affects mood, behaviour, anxiety and even social skills — not just digestion.

⚗️  Toxic burden

Food dyes, food additives and pesticides may put extra stress on a nervous system. Reducing this load can create a noticeable shift.

Research by Prof. James Adams at Arizona State University showed that a comprehensive nutritional intervention over 12 months led to significant improvements in non-verbal IQ, behaviour and gut symptoms in children and adults with ASD. Nutritional psychiatrist Dr. James Greenblatt has spent 30 years showing how addressing deficiencies in zinc, omega-3 and B vitamins can dramatically reduce ADHD symptoms. Nutrition researcher Julie Matthews, who co-authored that same landmark study, has worked with thousands of families to show that there is no one-size-fits-all diet, but the right diet for each individual can potentially change the entire trajectory of their life.

What I see every day and why it breaks my heart

When I sit down to eat alongside the people I support, I see frequently ultra-processed food, sugary drinks, white bread, packaged snacks and almost no vegetables, no good fats, no fruits. And I feel powerless, because I know what I'm looking at is not just a meal. It is a missed opportunity that has been repeating, meal after meal, year after year.

Many adults with disabilities are also living with diabetes, heart disease, obesity, severe anxiety, fatigue and other health issues that have piled on top of their original diagnosis. Their lives are more limited and more painful than they needed to be. And I keep thinking: what if someone had told their family this information when they were little?

I'm not saying nutrition is a cure. I'm saying it is a powerful, accessible, and underused tool and that most families have never even been given the chance to try it.

So where do you start?

Start by paying attention. Not to the diet plan, not to the research papers, just to the person in front of you.

•       How do they feel after eating certain foods? Do they get more hyperactive, anxious or withdrawn?

•       Do they have ongoing gut issues like constipation, bloating, diarrhoea? These are not separate from their brain symptoms. They are connected.

•       Are they picky eaters? This is often not wilfulness, it's frequently rooted in sensory sensitivities, gut-brain signals and nutritional imbalances.

•       What are they actually eating day to day? Is there colour, variety, whole food or mostly beige, packaged and sweet?

The answers to those questions are your starting point. You don't have to overhaul everything at once. Small, consistent steps like eating more vegetables, less food dye, a quality omega-3 and cutting back on ultra-processed snacks, can begin to shift the internal environment that the brain is living in.

"There is no single diet that solves everything. But the right nutritional approach, tailored to the individual, can be the difference between a neurodivergent person struggling their whole life — and one who gets the chance to genuinely thrive." — Julie Matthews, nutrition researcher and author of The Personalized Autism Nutrition Plan

In my next blog, I'll be sharing practical steps and the specific foods and nutrients that the research supports most strongly for ASD, ADHD, anxiety and learning delays. But for today, I just want you to hear this:

It is not too late. It is not too hard. And it is absolutely worth the effort.

Sources: ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers 2022  ·  Australian ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline (AADPA)  ·  Adams et al., Nutrients 2018  ·  Frontiers in Nutrition 2025  ·  Julie Matthews, The Personalized Autism Nutrition Plan 2025  ·  The Hatchery / Aspect Australia. ·  May et al. The Australian evidence-based clinical practice guideline for ADHD. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2023  ·  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). ADHD medications dispensed 2004-05 to 2023-24  ·  ACARA. School students with disability, 2025.