Highlights
One drawer, many sections. The spoon drawer holds different kinds of spoons, such as focus, sensory, planning, physical and social. Each section can run low on its own.
Match food to the low section. When eating feels hard, notice which section is low and pick food that asks little of it. Same meal again is fine.
Check in with your GP if the whole drawer stays empty for weeks, or if you're worried about your eating or how you're feeling.
What is the spoon drawer?
Last week I wrote about spoon theory: the idea that you start each day with a limited number of spoons, and every task costs some.
The spoon drawer takes it a step further. In 2014, autistic writer Cynthia Kim wrote that "we have social spoons and language spoons and physical activity spoons and all sorts of other spoons." Psychologist Dr Megan Anna Neff, who is autistic and ADHD, later called this the neurodivergent spoon drawer.
Picture a cutlery drawer divided into sections. Each section holds a different kind of spoon, and each section can run low on its own. So you can have plenty of one kind of spoon and almost none of another.
You don't need a diagnosis for any of this to be useful, and self-identified readers are welcome here.
What kinds of spoons are in the drawer?
Neff and Kim name these kinds of spoons. The short descriptions and the split by how much each one comes up around food are mine.
The sections food draws on most:
Focus: paying attention, including noticing your body's signals and remembering to eat.
Sensory: coping with sound, smell, taste, texture, light and crowds.
Executive function (planning): deciding, planning and getting started.
Physical: the body effort of shopping, cooking and cleaning up.
Social: being with people, including shared meals.
Sections that matter more in other parts of your day:
Language: talking, listening and processing words. It can come into food when ordering at a café or asking about ingredients, but usually less.
Mental: Neff's general term for thinking-heavy work, such as writing or study.
Why can I forget to eat when I'm busy?
This often comes down to your focus spoons. Noticing hunger takes attention, and so does remembering to stop what you're doing.
In my view, part of it is how much your attention is juggling. Keeping track of lots of tasks across the day uses focus spoons, and some people, including many ADHD adults, find it hard to shift their attention from one thing to another. Either way, hunger can slip past until much later.
For some neurodivergent people, body signals are also harder to read. In one study, 74 autistic adults reported much lower awareness of their body and of thirst than non-autistic adults. In another, autistic adults writing about their own experiences described limited awareness of hunger, fullness or thirst.
Some ways to make eating ask less of your focus drawer:
Set a meal reminder on your phone or watch.
Keep a snack you like where you can see it, such as at your desk or in your bag.
Eat at roughly the same times each day, so the clock does the noticing for you.
Why do smells, sounds and textures matter more some days?
When your sensory spoons are low, food can feel much louder than usual.
In interviews with 23 autistic adults, most described high sensitivity to sound, including while eating, and many found sour, bitter or spicy flavours very intense. Autistic women in another study said sensory aspects of food could make eating enjoyable or distressing, and that safe foods and routines helped them manage sensory and social challenges. The researchers suggest these ways of eating may be functional rather than harmful.
Some ways to make eating ask less of your sensory drawer:
Choose familiar foods with flavours and textures you know you're okay with.
Eat somewhere quieter, or use headphones.
Pick no-cook or cold options to skip cooking smells.
Same meal again is fine. A healthy diet is long-term variety; the same safety meal doesn't break that. Australia's dietary guidelines describe variety across each day and week, and say some foods only need to be eaten a couple of times a week.
How do I match food to the drawer that's low?
Start by noticing which section of your drawer feels low. If you can't tell, that's common, and a familiar default meal works on most days.
Focus spoons low: a reminder (alarms or notifications on your phone or watch), and food you can see, such as a snack on your desk or in your bag. Eating at roughly the same times each day lets the clock do the noticing.
Sensory spoons low: a food you know you're okay with, somewhere quieter or with headphones on, and cold or no-cook food to skip cooking smells.
Planning spoons low: one meal decided in advance, such as a "default dinner" you can make without thinking, or a short list of easy meals on the fridge.
Physical spoons low: no-cook food you can eat sitting down, such as a wrap with ready-cooked chicken and bagged salad, or fruit and a handful of nuts. The dishes can wait.
Social spoons low: it's okay to eat alone, eat somewhere quiet, or skip the small talk, for example by having lunch in a quiet room.
It can help to talk about this with people you trust, such as a partner, housemate, friend or family member. If they know which spoons tend to run low for you, they can help when you need it, for example by sending a meal reminder or picking up groceries.
What if the whole drawer feels empty?
Some days are like that, and a simple, familiar meal is enough.
If the whole drawer stays empty for more than a couple of weeks, talk to your GP. And if you're concerned about your eating or about how you're feeling, see your GP, whatever your spoons look like.
What can't the spoon drawer do?
It's a metaphor from lived experience, not a clinical tool, and no research has tested it. Your drawer might have different sections. Use the parts that help.
Next week I'll look at capacity-based eating: planning meals for very low, low and okay days.
When should I get extra support?
Talk to your GP if food feels hard most days, you're eating much less than usual, or you're losing weight without meaning to. These can be signs your body isn't getting enough, and they're worth checking early.
A dietitian can also help you plan food around your energy, senses and preferences, and you don't need a diagnosis to see me. If you'd like to work with me, you can book online: https://www.halaxy.com/profile/mr-jack-bark/dietitian/1804313
This post is general information only and isn't a substitute for individual advice. For any concern about your health or eating, talk to your GP.
References
Neff MA. The neurodivergent spoon drawer: spoon theory for ADHDers and autists [Internet]. Neurodivergent Insights; 2022 Jul 13 [cited 2026 Nov 3]. Available from: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/the-neurodivergent-spoon-drawer-spoon-theory-for-adhders-and-autists/
Kim C. Conserving spoons [Internet]. Musings of an Aspie; 2014 Oct 15 [cited 2026 Nov 3]. Available from: https://musingsofanaspie.com/2014/10/15/conserving-spoons/
Fiene L, Brownlow C. Investigating interoception and body awareness in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2015;8:709-16. doi:10.1002/aur.1486 Consensus: https://consensus.app/papers/details/abd561c78de25e15be7cca7bc14f501e/
Trevisan DA, Parker T, McPartland JC. First-hand accounts of interoceptive difficulties in autistic adults. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021;51:3483-91. doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04811-x. Consensus: https://consensus.app/papers/details/d941b856e4f85eb4976b447db896c013/
Singh A, Seo HS. Atypical sensory functions and eating behaviors among adults on the autism spectrum: one-on-one interviews. J Sens Stud. 2022;37(2):e12724. doi:10.1111/joss.12724 Consensus: https://consensus.app/papers/details/22ba91a33c1959398df97989ff73d116/
Stephenson H, Thom-Jones S, Lowe J, Milne L. "I know it's very spectrum-y": autistic women reflect on sensory aspects of food and eating. Autism Adulthood. 2025;7(5):612-22. doi:10.1089/aut.2023.0114. Consensus: https://consensus.app/papers/details/45ae0f04462b5a69995676edab952fa3/
National Health and Medical Research Council. The five food groups [Internet]. Canberra: NHMRC, Eat For Health; [cited 2026 Nov 3]. Available from: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups
Cederholm T, Jensen GL, Correia MITD, Gonzalez MC, Fukushima R, Higashiguchi T, et al. GLIM criteria for the diagnosis of malnutrition: a consensus report from the global clinical nutrition community. Clin Nutr. 2019;38(1):1-9. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2018.08.002