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A Comparison of a Behavioral Feeding Intervention With and Without Pre-meal Sensory Integration Therapy

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Abstract

This study compared a behavioral feeding intervention with and without pre-meal sensory integration therapy (SIT) in two boys with autism spectrum disorder and severe food selectivity. For both participants, child bite and drink consumption and total intake increased to similar levels with corresponding decreases in inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB) in both conditions. The SIT condition was then discontinued and both participants continued to exhibit high levels of bite and drink consumption with corresponding low levels of IMB during a non-SIT phase. Caregivers of both participants were then trained in the behavioral feeding intervention. Follow-up data were collected for one participant for two months following intervention and showed maintenance of treatment gains over time. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research comparing the effects of behavioral feeding interventions with and without SIT are discussed.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Laura Seiverling

    Present address: Department of Special Education, Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Pediatric Feeding Disorders, St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, Bayside, NY, USA

    Laura Seiverling & Kisha Anderson

  2. St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, Bayside, NY, USA

    Christine Rogan

  3. The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Christina Alaimo

  4. University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Paul Argott

  5. Queens College (City University of New York), Flushing, NY, USA

    Julio Panora

Authors
  1. Laura Seiverling
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  2. Kisha Anderson
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  3. Christine Rogan
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  4. Christina Alaimo
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  5. Paul Argott
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  6. Julio Panora
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Contributions

LS conceived the research question, developed the design, and assisted with implementation of the feeding protocols and SIT activities. KA assisted with implementation of the feeding protocols, SIT activities, and data collection. CR assisted with the occupational therapy components of the project (i.e., initial screening for participants, consultations, development of SIT activities, observation of therapists implementing SIT activities). CA assisted with data collection, scoring IOA, and the write up of the manuscript. PA assisted with the written manuscript. JP assisted with data collection and IOA for this project. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laura Seiverling.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study has been approved by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee and have been performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from caregivers of each participant included in the study.

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Seiverling, L., Anderson, K., Rogan, C. et al. A Comparison of a Behavioral Feeding Intervention With and Without Pre-meal Sensory Integration Therapy. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 3344–3353 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3604-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3604-z

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