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J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Oct;31(5):505-11 |
Books
An assessment of food acceptance in children
with autism or pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified.
Ahearn WH, Castine T, Nault K, Green G.
The New England Center for Children, Southboro, MA 01772-2108, USA.
Bahearn@necc.org
Some children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise
specified (PDD-NOS) have been reported to have atypical feeding behavior, such
as sensitivity to food texture and selective preferences for particular foods.
No systematic studies of feeding behavior in this population have been
published. Munk and Repp (1994) developed methods for assessing feeding problems
in individuals with cognitive and physical disabilities that allow
categorization of individual feeding patterns based on responses to repeated
presentations of food. In this study, we systematically replicated the Munk and
Repp procedures with children with autism and PDD-NOS. Thirty children, ages 3
to 14 years, were exposed to 12 food items across 6 sessions. Food acceptance,
food expulsion, and disruptive behavior were recorded on a trial-by-trial
basis. Approximately half of the participants exhibited patterns of food
acceptance, indicating selectivity by food category or food texture. Others
consistently accepted or rejected items across food categories. Whether these
patterns of food acceptance are atypical remains to be determined by comparison
with the feeding patterns of typically developing children and other children
with developmental delays.
PMID: 11794415 [PubMed - in process]
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