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Parent Teleconsultation to Increase Bites Consumed: A Demonstration Across Foods for a Child With ARFID and ASD

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Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience feeding dysfunction at a substantially higher proportion than their neurotypical peers. Feeding concerns can provide considerable challenges for parents, and as such, helping parents of children with ASD provide effective mealtime interventions for interfering behavior is critical, especially if parents have individual circumstances that affect their ability to effectively implement these feeding interventions. This study contributes to the parent-implemented feeding-intervention literature by demonstrating that a parent with ASD can implement a pediatric feeding intervention in the home with their child with ASD, despite contributing mental health factors. To address family needs, we developed a socially valid and individualized intervention, which we delivered over telehealth. The intervention resulted in an increase in the consumption of previously nonpreferred foods, while the caregiver maintained adequate levels of procedural fidelity. Practical considerations and implications are discussed.

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Author Note

We would like to thank Heather L. J. Lewis, MEd, for her contributions to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Bradley S. Bloomfield

  2. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Aaron J. Fischer, Racheal R. Clark & Melissa Fife

  3. Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Meredith Dove

Authors
  1. Bradley S. Bloomfield
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  2. Aaron J. Fischer
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  3. Meredith Dove
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  4. Racheal R. Clark
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  5. Melissa Fife
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bradley S. Bloomfield.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors; all procedures with human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and comparable ethical standards.

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Research Highlights

• Feeding difficulties are common in children with autism spectrum disorder.

• Parent teleconsultation may be an effective modality to train parents to implement a behavioral feeding intervention.

• A series of changing-criterion designs was used to demonstrate the increase in compliance with the feeding demand.

• A socially valid and feasible intervention in the home can increase the consumption of nonpreferred foods.

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Bloomfield, B.S., Fischer, A.J., Dove, M. et al. Parent Teleconsultation to Increase Bites Consumed: A Demonstration Across Foods for a Child With ARFID and ASD. Behav Analysis Practice 14, 913–926 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00586-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00586-4

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