2020 Volume 58 Issue 3 Pages 116-122
Dietary problems are a significant concern for parents of both children with typical developmental disorders and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although it is presumed that children with ASD have different dietary problems from children with typical development, there are few studies comparing the two. Therefore, we conducted this study to compare the dietary needs of children with ASD and those of nursery school children in order to help support the dietary needs of children with ASD.
The subjects were 42 nursery school children and 58 children with ASD. A questionnaire about oral functioning and eating was administered to the children, and the mealtime situation was also evaluated. The results of the questionnaire showed that the parents of the nursery school children selected many items related to motivation, while the parents of the ASD children selected many items related to oral function as well as picky eating. Regarding the function of feeding and swallowing, there were few problems among the nursery school children, and the way they ate and manipulated the eating utensils improved as they got older. On the other hand, in children with ASD, “inability to take in food with the upper lip” and “inability to bite with the anterior teeth” were prominent, which was thought to be related to sensory deviation. In addition, the immaturity of food manipulation may have affected the way they ate. In supporting the eating habits of children with ASD, it is important to understand the characteristics of the disease and to improve the environment in which the child is treated.
