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Atypical eating behaviors may be a sign that a child should be screened for autism, according to a new study from Penn State College of Medicine.
Research conducted by Susan Mayes, a professor of psychiatry, showed that atypical eating behaviors were present in 70% of children with autism, 15 times more than in neurotypical children.
Atypical dietary behaviors may include extremely limited dietary preferences, hypersensitivity to textures or food temperatures and pockets of food without swallowing.
According to Mayes, these behaviors are present in many children aged one year with autism and could indicate to doctors and parents that a child may have autism.
"If a primary care provider hears about these behaviors from parents, he should consider returning the child to an autism screening," Mayes said.
Mayes said that the sooner autism is diagnosed, the sooner the child can begin treatment with a behavioral analyst. Previous studies have shown that applied behavioral analysis is more effective if implemented during the preschool years. Behavior analysts use a number of interventions, including rewards, to make positive changes in children's behavior and teach a range of necessary skills.
Keith Williams, director of the diet program at Penn State Children's Hospital, uses this therapy to help various people with unusual eating behaviors. He said that identifying and correcting these behaviors can help ensure that children are eating properly.
"I've already looked after a child who ate only bacon and drank only iced tea," Williams said. "Unusual diets like these do not support children."
Williams also pointed out that there is a clear difference between the disturbing eating behaviors and the dietary habits that characterize young children. He explained that most children without special needs slowly add food to their diet during their development, but that children with autism spectrum disorders, without intervention, will often remain selective consumers.
"We see children who continue to eat baby food or who do not try different textures," Williams said. "We even see children who fail to go from bottle-feeding."
Mayes said many autistic children eat in a narrow way, mainly made from grain products, such as pasta and bread, and chicken nuggets. She explained that since autistic children have sensory hypersensitivity and do not like the changes, they might not want to try new foods and would be sensitive to certain textures. They often eat only foods of a particular brand, color or shape.
Research has also shown that most children with atypical autism have two or more types of autism – nearly a quarter have three or more types. Yet, none of the children with another developmental disorder who did not have autism had three or more. According to Williams, this is a common clinical phenomenon – and this has prompted him and his colleagues to recommend children for further evaluation.
"When we evaluate young children with multiple eating problems, we begin to wonder if these children could also be diagnosed with autism," Williams said. "In many cases, they finally receive this diagnosis."
The researchers evaluated the eating behaviors described in interviews with parents of more than 2,000 children from two studies. They studied the difference in frequency of unusual eating behaviors between typical children and those with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disorders.
Williams said that the study data show that atypical eating behaviors can help diagnose autism from other disorders. Although children in both groups have unusual dietary habits, they are seven times more common in autism than in other disorders, according to the study data.
"This study provided further evidence that these unusual eating behaviors are the rule and not the exception for autistic children," Williams said.
Hana Zickgraf, University of Chicago, also contributed to this research.
The authors did not receive any funding to conduct this study and declared no conflict of interest.
Source of the story:
Material provided by Penn State. Original written by Zachary Sweger. Note: Content can be changed for style and length.
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