Mealtime feeding behaviors and gastrointestinal dysfunction in children with classic autism compared with normal sibling controls

Abstract

Introduction: We compared the frequency and duration of specific mealtime behaviors and GI dysfunction in children with classic autism to typically-developing siblings. Survey Method: A 41-item on-line parent survey. Statistics: Chi square and binomial logistical regression. Results: 79 children with classic autism matched with a normally-developing sibling. Logistic Regression Analysis Revealed: Dislike of new foods and bizarre mealtime mannerisms, were more frequent in those with classic autism (p < 0.01). They also had higher odds ratio of constipation and fecal incontinence (p < 0.01). 40% of children with classic autism had been on GFCF diets (p < 0.01). Only 1% of those children on a gluten-free diet had a biopsy-proven diagnosis of celiac disease. Conclusion: Children with classic autism had more frequent dislike of new foods, bizarre mealtime behaviors, constipation, and fecal incontinence.

Share and Cite:

Badalyan, V. and Schwartz, R. (2012) Mealtime feeding behaviors and gastrointestinal dysfunction in children with classic autism compared with normal sibling controls. Open Journal of Pediatrics, 2, 150-160. doi: 10.4236/ojped.2012.22025.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Mandy, W., Charman, T., Gilmour, J. and Skuse, D. (2011) Toward specifying pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified. Autism Research, 4, 121-131. doi:10.1002/aur.178
[2] American Psychiatric Association. (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th Edition, American Psychiatric Association, Washington.
[3] Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders. United States, 2006. Mortality Weekly Report, 18 December 2009, 1-20.
[4] Martins, Y., Young, R.L. and Robson, D.C. (2008) Feeding and eating behaviors in children with autism and typically developing children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 1878-1887. doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0583-5
[5] Matson, J.L., Fodstad, J.C. and Dempsey, T. (2009) The relationship of children’s feeding problems to core symptoms of autism and PDD-NOS. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3, 759-766. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2009.02.005
[6] Matson, J.L. and Fodstad, J.C. (2009) The treatment of food selectivity and other feeding problems in children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 3, 455-461. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2008.09.005
[7] Molloy, C.A. and Manning-Courtney, P. (2003) Prevalence of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism and autistic spectrum disorders. Autism, 7, 165-171. doi:10.1177/1362361303007002004
[8] Smith, R.A., Farnworth, H., Wright, B. and Allgar, V. (2009) Are there more bowel symptoms in children with autism compared to normal children and children with other developmental and neurological disorders? A case control study. Autism, 13, 343-355. doi:10.1177/1362361309106418
[9] Schreck, K.A., Williams, K. and Smith, A.F. (2004) A comparison of eating behaviors between children with and without autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 433-438. doi:10.1023/B:JADD.0000037419.78531.86
[10] Kodak, T. and Piazza, C.C. (2008) Assessment and behavioral treatment of feeding and sleeping disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders. Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 17, 887-890. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2008.06.005
[11] Nadon, G., Feldman, D.E., Dunn, W. and Gisel, E. (2011) Mealtime problems in children with autism spectrum disorder and their typically-developing siblings: A compareson study. Autism, 15, 98-113. doi:10.1177/1362361309348943
[12] Wang, L.W., Tancredi, D.J. and Thomas, D.W. (2011) The prevalence of gastrointestinal problems in children across the United States with autism spectrum disorders from families with multiple affected members. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 32, 351-360. doi:10.1097/DBP.0b013e31821bd06a
[13] Provost, B., Crowe, T.K., Osbourn, P.L., McClain, C. and Skipper, B.J. (2010) Mealtime behaviors of preschool children: Comparison of children with autism spectrum disorder and children with typical development. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 30, 220-233. doi:10.3109/01942631003757669
[14] Lukens, C.T. and Linscheid, T.R. (2008) Development and validation of an inventory to assess mealtime behavior problems in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 342-352. doi:10.1007/s10803-007-0401-5
[15] Seiverling, L., Hendy, H.M. and Williams, K. (2011) The Screening Tool of Feeding Problems applied to children (STEP-CHILD): Psychometric characteristics and associations with child and parent variables. Research in Develop Disabilit, 32, 1122-1129. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.01.012
[16] Black, C., Kaye, J.A. and Jick, H. (2002) Relation of childhood gastrointestinal disorders to autism: Nested case-control study using data from the UK General Practice Research Database. British Medical Journal, 325, 419-421. doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7361.419
[17] Ibrahim, S.H., Voigt, R.G., Katusic, S.K., Weaver, A.L. and Barbaresi, W.J. (2009) Incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autism: A population-based study. Pediatrics, 124, 680-686. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2933
[18] Whitehouse, A.J., Mayberry, M., Wray, J.A. and Hickey, M. (2011) No association between early gastrointestinal problems and autistic-like traits in the general population. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 53, 457-462. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.03915.x
[19] Buie, T., Campbell, D.B., Fuchs, G.J., Furuta, G.T., Levy, J., Van de Water, J., et al. (2010) Evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in indiviuals with ASDs: A consensus report. Pediatrics, 125, S1-S18. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-1878C

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.