Combining Stimulus Fading with Simultaneous Stimulus Presentation in a School Setting for Food Selectivity in a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The participant was a boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who displayed severe food selectivity, which raised concerns about imbalanced nutrient consumption. The intervention used combined stimulus fading with simultaneous stimulus presentation without escape extinction (EE) and was implemented by teachers in a school setting. In intervention I, which used only stimulus fade-in of non-preferred foods, favorable results were not obtained. In intervention II, simultaneous stimulus presentation of a preferred food combined with stimulus fade-in of non-preferred foods, Silva’s consumption was stabilized at 100% consumption of three non-preferred foods. When intervention II was terminated, the child’s mother requested the inclusion of two additional non-preferred foods, so the intervention was extended based on a fading protocol planned with and to be used by the mother. The effects of the intervention were maintained at the 3-month post-intervention follow-up. The child’s parents and teachers showed high acceptance of this intervention. The current study offers further evidence that combining antecedent-based interventions without EE has the potential to yield favorable results with some children.