A Study on Meal-Related Problems in Children with Autistic Spectrum

Report 1. A Study on the Factors Involved in the Meal-Related Problems

Abstract

Of the children with autistic spectrum (ASD) diagnosed by a pediatrician and who had received care at Regional Rehabilitation Centers for Children with Disabilities, 338 (including their parents) from whom informed consent was obtained were administered questionnaires that contained questions assessing whether they had problematic mealtime behaviors, problems of eating manners, bias of sensation (referred to as “deviated sensation” below), or dislike of activities.

There were many problematic behaviors at mealtimes including “walking away from the table” and “making a clattering noise (hitting or kicking furniture),” and many poor eating manners including “eating just one food item,” “overfilling the mouth” and “swallowing food whole.” There was a relationship between the problematic behavior at mealtimes and the level of development. It seems to be difficult for these problematic behaviors to lessen naturally or disappear with age.

“Having a least favorite tactile sense,” “having a favorite tactile sense,” and “having a least favorite sound” accounted for over 30% on sensory bias, but no clear trend was found with age or level of development. Fewer reluctant acts were observed in the 8-9 age group and normal group, of which a high proportion was found “to have had it in the past,” implying that the acts can be improved with age.

A significant relationship was observed between problems at mealtime and sensory bias. It is important to reduce the sensory bias, yet control is difficult. Reluctant acts appeared to be improved in the group with sensory bias, which suggested that there is a possibility of improvements in problems in daily life including mealtimes despite sensory bias being a characteristic of ASD. In order to achieve this, a support program to promote overall development is required.