Associations between autism symptom severity and mealtime behaviors in young children presented with an unfamiliar food.
Susana R Patton, Cathleen Odar Stough, Teresa Y Pan and 2 others
PMID 32422393WHAT IT FOUND
Children with more severe autism symptoms took fewer bites of unfamiliar foods and requested less food, but showed less disruptive talk and table leaving.
Parents gave more ineffective commands and fed them more. Parent-reported mealtime problems did not match clinician-rated autism severity.
Key findings
01Greater clinician-rated autism severity was associated with fewer observed bites of an unfamiliar food and fewer observed child requests for food.
02Greater clinician-rated autism severity was associated with higher rates of ineffective parental commands and parents feeding the child, but also with less child talk and less time away from the table.
03There were no significant associations between clinician-rated autism severity and parent-reported mealtime behaviors on the BAMBI.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The researchers assessing autism severity (CARS-2) were not blinded to the feeding assessments. The study used a screening measure (CARS-2) rather than a gold-standard diagnostic assessment like the ADOS. Internal consistency for some BAMBI subscales was low in this sample, particularly the Features of ASD subscale. Families knew they were being observed, which might influence natural behavior, although only the final meal was analyzed. The study did not assess sensory sensitivities directly, which are known to impact feeding. Only one unfamiliar food was presented per child, and mixing foods was prohibited, which may not reflect typical home strategies.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that parent-reported mealtime problems accurately reflect the child's autism severity. The study found no significant association between clinician-rated autism severity and parent-reported problems on the BAMBI, suggesting that parents of children with more severe symptoms may not rate their child's mealtime behaviors as problematic.