ALLENTOWN, Pa. — If Andrea Ritter’s family goes out to dinner, it’s typically at a fast-food restaurant. Daughter Hayley, 8, has autism and struggles with waiting for food, so trying to go to a sit-down restaurant is sometimes out of the question.
But thanks to Autism Eats, the Ritters can finally take a breath, and a bite.
“Autism Eats really opens a lot of doors, because she can come to the event and we don’t have to be stressed about if she’s going to get her food,” Ritter said. “That gives us a place to bring her so it’s not as stressful for us as a family, and we can actually all sit down and enjoy our meals and not have to be worried about that part.”
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Autism Eats, a volunteer nonprofit started by Boston resident Lenard Zohn and his wife Delphine, books restaurants solely for families with children who have autism and who usually cannot dine out without worrying about sensory issues, judgment from other diners or general triggers to their experience.
Casa di Italia in Upper Macungie Township recently hosted the group. The owners of the restaurant have a nephew that has autism and told Ritter and the other volunteer organizers that they “knew exactly what (they) needed.”
“When we first began doing the events about 10 years ago, when I would meet the restaurant management or the owners and explain to them what we’re doing and the type of people that are coming, there was not as great an awareness of autism,” Zohn said.
In the last couple of years, that has changed, Zohn said. More and more restaurants contacted by Autism Eats volunteers have a connection to autism in some shape or another, whether that be the restaurant owners or servers who may have other jobs that include working with people with autism.
Zohn’s son, Adin, is 20 years old now and is what Zohn calls a “sensory seeker” — someone who wants to be out in the community without judgment. Restaurants become a safe space where parents and other guests understand some frequent sensory responses like jumping, running or other self-stimulation behaviors.
Autism Eats reserves the whole restaurant, service staff are aware of the event and special food service is provided so that no child is waiting, giving families of children with all levels of autism a space to feel supported.
“Since you’re in good company, if there’s any noises, flopping, radios or iPhones being played too loud, nobody notices, nobody cares,” Zohn said. “Nobody has to make an excuse or explain what’s happening, because we’re all there. We all get it.”
The last Lehigh Valley Autism Eats event was at Prime Steak House in Northampton County in November 2023.
Kids eat for free thanks to Autism Eats and sponsors like St. Luke’s University Health Network, and the Greenwich Autism Alliance from Stewartsville, N.J.
But most of all, children and their families get a chance to enjoy a meal, and a night out.
“You are not being judged in those harder moments,” Lindsay Wieand, a Bethlehem parent of two kids with autism, said in an email. “I know it’s important to keep these opportunities going for other families like ours. This journey can be lonely, and connecting with other families can make a difference.”
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