Convergent Validity of the Feeding and Eating in AutiSm Together Assessment (FEAST).
Brittany St John, Hsiang-Ting Chen, Alana Woolley and 1 others
PMID 40489193WHAT IT FOUND
Caregiver reports on FEAST lined up with two established feeding questionnaires for overall mealtime challenge severity.
Its sensory, oral motor, and gastrointestinal subscales showed weaker links with the comparison tools. OTs can use it for feeding assessments.
Key findings
01FEAST Total scores showed significant moderate positive correlations with BAMBIC Total scores and STEP-CHILD Total Frequency scores.
02FEAST subscale scores aligned with similar constructs: Behavior with BAMBIC Food Refusal and Disruptive Behavior, Oral Motor Skills with STEP-CHILD Chewing Problems, and Sensory Processing most closely with STEP-CHILD Food Selectivity.
03FEAST Gastrointestinal Health subscale scores were minimally correlated with BAMBIC scores and weak or nonsignificant with STEP-CHILD scores.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample came from an autism research registry and caregivers chose to participate, so it may not represent families who do not take part in studies. The children were mostly White and the sample had relatively high education and income levels, so results may not generalize to more diverse families. Autism diagnoses were caregiver-reported and not confirmed in this study, although registry participants had questionnaire scores suggesting high likelihood of autism. The study checked score relationships only. It did not test whether FEAST scores predict outcomes or improve feeding, and it did not establish cutoff scores or interpretation guides. FEAST is a caregiver-report measure and may miss factors such as family food security, cultural practices, and feeding priorities.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat FEAST as a diagnostic test or as evidence that it improves feeding. The study only checked how its scores relate to two other questionnaires, and the authors say it is not intended to diagnose and did not establish cutoff scores.