Investigating the impact of autistic children's feeding difficulties on caregivers

Author:

Gent Valerie1ORCID,Marshall Jeanne23,Weir Kelly A.456,Trembath David78

Affiliation:

1. Griffith University Southport Australia

2. Queensland Children's Hospital Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service Brisbane Australia

3. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia

4. The Royal Children's Hospital Parkville Melbourne Australia

5. School of Health Sciences The University of Melbourne, Parkville Melbourne Australia

6. School of Health Sciences & Social Work Griffith University Southport Australia

7. Menzies Health Institute Queensland Griffith University Southport Australia

8. CliniKids Telethon Kids Institute Subiaco Australia

Abstract

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to investigate the influence of children's autism characteristics, sensory profiles and feeding difficulties on caregiver‐reported impact at mealtimes.BackgroundCaregivers of children (5–12 years) with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder completed an online survey examining (a) demographic characteristics, (b) children's autism characteristics (Social Communication Questionnaire), (c) sensory profiles (Sensory Profile 2–short form), (d) feeding difficulties (Behavioural Paediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale, BPFAS) and (c) caregiver‐reported impact of feeding difficulties (Feeding‐Swallowing Impact Survey, FS‐IS).ResultsSeventy‐eight caregivers completed surveys for 80 children. Children with clinically significant feeding difficulties on the BPFAS (n = 55, 68.8%) had higher levels of caregiver‐reported impact on daily activities, worry and feeding difficulties compared to children without clinically significant feeding difficulties (FS‐IS; U = 257.000, z = −4.471, p < 0.01). Spearman's rank correlation showed a statistically significant, moderate correlation between BPFAS total frequency score and FS‐IS Daily activities score, rs (98) = 0.56, p < 0.01, indicating that as the frequency of feeding difficulties increased, the impact of these feeding difficulties on caregivers also increased. Using multiple regression, a model comprising of the three factors was statistically significant (F[1, 78] = 87.75, p < 0.001, adj. R2 = 0.52), with children's frequency of feeding difficulties the strongest predictor of caregiver‐reported impact with a moderate effect size (r = 0.49).ConclusionAutistic children's feeding difficulties had a greater impact on caregivers than autism or sensory profiles, with the frequency of feeding difficulties and the caregiver impact of these feeding difficulties positively correlated. The findings demonstrate that efforts to understand and address feeding difficulties in autistic children must extend beyond the children to include their families.

Funder

Griffith University

Publisher

Wiley

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