Abstract
BackgroundParents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often report that their children have multiple dietary behavior problems than parents of typically developing (TD) children do. This may affect proper nutrition and subsequently adequate growth and development in children with ASD. The current study aimed to assess the feeding behavior in recently diagnosed children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ranged in age from 2 to 4 years and compare it with typically developing (TD) children and to explore the relationship between feeding behaviors and autism severity using the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), respectively. Parents of 35 preschool children (2–4 years) with ASD completed reports of physical measurements, feeding interview, Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH Feeding-Scale). The collected data from parents of children with ASD were analyzed and compared with 70 typically developed children matched with age and sex.ResultsASD children showed statistically significantly more problematic feeding behaviors in most of the assessed eating characters compared with TD children, e.g., food neophobia, eating non-food items instead of food, requiring assistance during eating, and feeding avoidance to particular textures and taste. The mean total score of the MCH feeding scale differed significantly between children with ASD and TD children. No correlation was found between the mean total score of the MCH feeding scale and CARS scores.ConclusionOur findings revealed a high rate of behavioral feeding problems in children with ASD. Future work will be needed to follow up the feeding behaviors and to develop practical feeding approaches for ASD children to maintain nutritional adequacy.
Highlights
IntroductionThe current study aimed to assess the feeding behavior in recently diagnosed children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ranged in age from 2 to 4 years and compare it with typically developing (TD) children and to explore the relationship between feeding behaviors and autism severity using the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), respectively
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often report that their children have multiple dietary behavior problems than parents of typically developing (TD) children do
The first purpose of this study was to compare the general problematic feeding behaviors of children with ASD and TD children such as food selectivity, food neophobia, eating non-food items instead of food, and ritualistic feeding behaviors, that are experienced by these two groups using a sample of recently diagnosed children with ASD who were not referred to nutritional clinics before, and using a matched control group of TD children with restricted age range (2–4 years)
Summary
The current study aimed to assess the feeding behavior in recently diagnosed children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ranged in age from 2 to 4 years and compare it with typically developing (TD) children and to explore the relationship between feeding behaviors and autism severity using the Montreal Children’s Hospital Feeding Scale (MCH) and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), respectively. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often report that their children have multiple dietary behavior problems than parents of typically developing (TD) children do [1,2,3]. The prevalence estimates of selective food acceptance in children with ASD vary, but researchers have consistently found that more than half of children with ASD exhibit limited food acceptance [4, 10, 11]
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