The Correlation Between Avoidant and Restrictive Feeding Intake Behaviors and Autism Spectrum Diagnostic Criteria of Children Based on Parent Report

The present study investigated Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder, that is associated with restrictive and repetitive difficulties with interpersonal communication where some problems of nutrition may be present (Castro et al., 2016). Children with ASD often demonstrate atypical feeding behavior, such as sensitivity to food texture and selective preferences to particular foods (Ahern et al., 2001). A recently established diagnosis in the DSM-5, Avoidant Restrictive Feeding Intake Disorder (ARFID), distinguishes a cohort of pediatrics who experience persistent difficulty in meeting nutritional needs without any concerns of weight or body image (Zimmerman, 2017). The current study assessed parents as participant evaluators of their children’s feeding habits and behaviors with the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale. Additionally, the study participants completed the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder, and a correlation between these two different symptom measures will be calculated. The participant sample was derived from the Amazon.com Mechanical Turk system and data collection is ongoing. The present study aims to replicate previous research showing ASD diagnosed children tend toward restricted eating habits through a limited diversity in diet. It was hypothesized that parent ratings of children’s ASD symptoms and restrictive eating behaviors will positively correlate, supporting previous research, in that children with significantly greater restrictive feeding habits will appear to be higher on the autism spectrum than those children that have less restrictive eating habits. Additional hypotheses stated that, when controlled for by age, the severity of ASD symptoms of the child will predict the intensity of restrictive feeding behaviors of that child, since it is hypothesized that there is a correlational relationship between restrictive feeding behaviors and ASD.