The oral behavior screener: a brief caregiver-completed measure of oral behaviors.

Introduction: To date, there are no caregiver-reported screening measures of oral behaviors related to feeding. The goal of this study was to develop such a measure.

Method: Caregivers of 803 children referred to a feeding clinic and 188 comparison children reported their children's frequency of nine oral behaviors.

Nutritional Status and Feeding Behavior of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Middle East and North Africa Region: A Systematic Review.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children is associated with increased risks of overweight/obesity and underweight, altered nutrient profile, and abnormal feeding behaviors. This systematic review aimed to elucidate the literature on the nutritional status of children with ASD in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, by providing a summary and assessment of the body of evidence. A systematic review of English and Arabic publications up to November 2020 was conducted of five databases in addition to the grey literature, which include a nutrition-related parameter, from both experimental and observational study designs.

Pellagra secondary to selective eating in a child with autism.

Once a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, health care providers rarely see primary pellagra in developed countries where fortification of foods with niacin is commonplace and niacin-rich foods are generally widely available. We report a ten-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder who presented with photosensitive dermatitis which resolved after vitamin supplementation and dietary changes. In this child, the pellagra developed as the result of a long-term pattern of selective eating.

Sensory Eating Problems Scale (SEPS) for children: Psychometrics and associations with mealtime problems behaviors.

The present study developed the 22-item Sensory Eating Problems Scale (SEPS) to measure sensory aspects for children surrounding eating, documented psychometrics of SEPS subscales, and examined their association with mealtime behavior problems. Study participants were 449 caretakers of children referred to feeding clinics, including children in three special needs status groups: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), other special needs, and no special needs. Caretakers completed surveys to report children's demographics, four measures of children's mealtime behavior problems, and five-point ratings for how often children showed various sensory feeding reactions.

The Glucose Control Resistance Scale.

Objective: While past research found family conflict, disordered eating, body image concerns and anxious self-doubts may affect adolescent diabetic glucose control, available measures of adherence mainly focus on management tasks. The current study aimed to combine measures of emotional distress and beliefs with decisions concerning management in a new measure of resistance to treatment adherence: the 12-item Glucose Control Resistance Scale (GCRS).

Methods: Participants included 135 adolescents and their parents from a pediatric diabetes clinic.

The Parent Mealtime Action Scale revised (PMAS-R): Psychometric characteristics and associations with variables of clinical interest.

The purpose of the present study was to provide a revised and more psychometrically-examined version of the Parent Mealtime Action Scale (PMAS-R), then to examine how well the PMAS-R subscales explained variance for four variables relevant in clinical settings. Study participants included 238 parents of children referred to a hospital-based feeding program (72.3% male children; mean age = 72.

Parent Attribution for Child Eating Scale (PACES). Psychometric characteristics and associations with child and parent variables.

Parent participation in interventions for their children's feeding problems may depend on parent attributions for the origins of these problems, but no measure is available to identify these parent perceptions. The purpose of the present paper was to develop a new Parent Attribution for Child Eating Scale (PACES), then to examine how parent perceptions measured by the PACES were associated with child variables and parent feeding practices. Participants included parents of 393 children from a hospital feeding clinic (68.

Variables associated with the use of complete oral calorie supplements in children with feeding problems.

Objective: To examine child and parent variables associated with complete oral calorie supplement use among children with feeding problems.

Design: Correlational examination of data from patient intake surveys.

Setting: Hospital-based feeding program.

Mother's feeding practices for children 3-10 years of age and their associations with child demographics.

The present study examined relationships between mothers' feeding practices and child demographics such as gender, age, weight status, and family income. This cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from 2259 children between 3 and 10 years of age who were sampled for the development of the Parent Mealtime Action Scale. No child gender differences were found in mothers' feeding practices.

Kid's Choice Program improves weight management behaviors and weight status in school children.

The present study examined the effectiveness of the Kid's Choice Program (KCP) for increasing children's weight management behaviors, and decreasing body mass index percentile (BMI%) for overweight and average-weight children. It also evaluated KCP characteristics relevant to long-term application in schools. Participants included 382 children assigned to two groups: a KCP group that received token rewards for three "Good Health Behaviors" including eating fruits or vegetables first at meals (FVFIRST), choosing low-fat and low-sugar healthy drinks (HDRINK), and showing 5000 exercise steps recorded on pedometers (EXERCISE), or a control group that received token rewards for three "Good Citizenship Behaviors.

Validation of the parent mealtime action scale (PMAS) when applied to children referred to a hospital-based feeding clinic.

The purpose of this study was to validate the Parent Mealtime Action Scale (PMAS) when applied to a clinical sample of 231 children with feeding problems and then to examine its association with demographic variables, diet, and weight. Parents completed questionnaires that included the PMAS, the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and measure of diet variety. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed good fit for the nine dimensions of parent mealtime action found in the original PMAS study.

Food refusal in children: a review of the literature.

Food refusal is a severe feeding problem in which children refuse to eat all or most foods presented and exhibit problems with growth. This review discusses the definition, etiology, and interventions pertaining to food refusal. The interventions utilized for food refusal typically consist of several treatment components.

Parent mealtime actions that mediate associations between children's fussy-eating and their weight and diet.

The present study evaluated parent mealtime actions that mediate associations between children's fussy-eating and their weight and diet. Participants included 236 feeding-clinic children in three diagnostic groups: 50 with autism, 84 with other special needs, and 102 without special needs. Children's weight was measured as body mass index percentile (BMI%), with only 26.

The Parent Mealtime Action Scale (PMAS). Development and association with children's diet and weight.

A new and comprehensive Parent Mealtime Action Scale (PMAS) was developed to identify dimensions of mealtime behaviors used by parents, then examined for its usefulness to explain variance in children's diet and weight status. Exploratory factor analysis with 2008 mothers and two confirmatory factor analyses with 541 mothers and 439 fathers produced a 31-item scale with nine dimensions. Mothers reported more gentle PMAS actions like setting SNACK LIMITS, ensuring DAILY FV AVAILABILITY, and using FAT REDUCTION and POSITIVE PERSUASION during meals, whereas fathers reported more forceful PMAS actions like INSISTENCE ON EATING.

Teaching chewing: a structured approach.

Objective: A structured intervention was used to teach chewing to two children with special needs. Neither child had a history of chewing or eating high-textured food.

Method: The intervention combined oral-motor and behavior components to teach chewing.

Practice does make perfect. A longitudinal look at repeated taste exposure.

Previous research has found that 10-15 exposures to a novel food found can increase liking and consumption. This research has been, however, largely limited cross-sectional studies in which participants are offered only one or a few novel foods. The goal of the current study uses a small clinical sample to demonstrate the number of exposures required for consumption of novel foods decreases as a greater number of foods are added to the diet.

Combining repeated taste exposure and escape prevention: an intervention for the treatment of extreme food selectivity.

Repeated taste exposure has been used to introduce novel foods in several settings, but none of these efforts have targeted clinical populations. This study describes an intervention that combines repeated taste exposure and escape prevention in the treatment of extreme food selectivity in two children with autism. Future applications of repeated taste exposure are discussed.

Reducing tube feeds and tongue thrust: combining an oral-motor and behavioral approach to feeding.

Objective: A treatment package combining oral-motor and behavioral interventions was implemented for a 6-year-old girl with Down syndrome referred to an intensive day treatment feeding program for gastrostomy tube dependence and food refusal. The participant exhibited a tongue thrust, resulting in the expulsion of all foods presented.

Method: An oral-motor procedure was used to reduce the tongue thrust and allow the food to be swallowed.

Overweight and average-weight children equally responsive to "Kids Choice Program" to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.

Secondary analyses were conducted for children participating in the school-based Kids Choice Program [Hendy, H. M., Williams, K.

"Kids Choice" school lunch program increases children's fruit and vegetable acceptance.

The "Kids Choice" school lunch program used token reinforcement, food choice, and peer participation to increase children's fruit and vegetable consumption without later drops in food preference sometimes found in past research and often called 'overjustification effects.' Participants included 188 school children (92 boys, 96 girls; mean age = 8.0; 95% Caucasian).