Abstract
PurposeThe aim of this paper is to share the details of a multidisciplinary approach, which includes occupational therapy, and to review the factors that should be considered in the evaluation and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who are excessively selective in their food choices. Issues in this area are complex and often related to several complementary domains (medical, nutritional, psychosocial, sensorimotor, etc.). However, feeding disorders are frequently assessed and treated from a single discipline and important issues are missed or confounded.Design/methodology/approachA team of experienced clinicians in the field of paediatric feeding disorders gathered the knowledge and experience they acquired from working with individuals with ASD as well as with individuals with other neurodevelopmental diagnosis. A review of current literature in paediatric feeding disorders was used to document and explicate the multifactorial nature of feeding disorders in children with ASD and justify the need for a multidisciplinary approach to issues in this area.FindingsFeeding disorders in children with ASD are linked to multiple sensory, motor, behavioural, nutritional and gastrointestinal comorbidities. A multidisciplinary approach is needed and increasingly recommended. However, multidisciplinary teams, specialised in the care of children with ASD and feeding issues, continue to be difficult to locate and access for families. The authors sought to highlight the signs of feeding problems in children with ASD from different domains and share a model of a multidisciplinary approach that can lead to more successful interventions.Originality/valueThe detailed description of the domains linked to feeding issues and the clinical descriptions provided throughout the paper create a roadmap for other clinicians aiming to set up similar teams.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterised by persistent challenges in social interaction, communication and restricted/repetitive
The aim of this paper is to share the details of a multidisciplinary approach, which includes occupational therapy, and that has proven to be effective in the assessment and treatment of children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental diagnosis who refuse to eat or who are excessively selective in their food choices (Beaudry-Bellefeuille et al, 2015; Gandara-Gafo et al, 2021)
Through discussions and a qualitative review of pertinent literature from each professional domain, the multifactorial nature of eating problems in children with ASD was documented and explicated to support the multidisciplinary approach used by our team
Summary
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders that are characterised by persistent challenges in social interaction, communication and restricted/repetitive. The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-8819.htm. © Isabelle Beaudry-Bellefeuille, Maria Pomoni, Angharad Welch, Tania Moriyon-Iglesias, Marta Suarez-Gonzalez and Eduardo Ramos-Polo. Published in Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy. The full terms of this licence maybe seen at http:// creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode. Funding and Acknowledgement: No funding was received for this paper
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