Abstract:
Objective To study the effects of clinical interventions on feeding difficulty of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) in order to provide new ideas and evidence for diagnosis, treatment and comprehensive rehabilitation of these children.
Methods ASD children trained in the Special Children's Rehabilitation Center of the Child Protection Department of Hubei Maternal And Child Health Hospital from March 2019 to June 2020 were selected as the research object, using the intervention test method, the children were intervened for 6 months through the comprehensive feeding intervention scheme of parent theory and practical training centered on nutrition and feeding based on the principle of applied behavior analysis, and the changes of feeding difficulties were observed after the intervention.
Results 324 ASD children with comorbid feeding difficulty were enrolled, 28. 70% children' s symptoms disappeared after intervention. Assessed by feeding difficulty assessment scale, the percentage of symptoms improved in the ASD children with comorbid mild, moderate, and severe feeding difficulties were 91. 19%, 96. 36%, and 100. 00% respectively. The scores of feeding difficulty assessment scale and the four subscales(children's feeding behaviors, growth status, oral cavity, parent feeding behaviors) were all decreased significantly after intervention(all
P< 0. 05). Multivariate analysis showed that maternal gestational diabetes was a risk factor, while high monthly income per person of the family, long duration of guided intervention and high index of intellectual development were protective factors of the intervention effectiveness.
Conclusion The comprehensive feeding intervention program is effective in improving their feeding behaviors, growth and development, and oral status for ASD children with comorbid feeding difficulty.