Evaluation of Empirical Pretreatment Assessments for Developing Treatments for Packing in Pediatric Feeding Disorders

Area of Science:

• Pediatric feeding disorders
• Behavioral interventions
• Clinical assessment models

Background:

• Packing (food pocketing) is a common feeding disorder in children, impeding treatment success.
• Existing treatments for packing lack a guiding assessment model for individualized application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an assessment model to identify conditions associated with low levels of packing in children.
• To use assessment results to inform the selection of individualized treatments to decrease packing.

Main Methods:

• A multielement design was employed to assess packing behaviors in 4 children with feeding disorders.
• Individualized treatment plans were developed based on assessment findings related to texture, preference, or effort.

Main Results:

• Packing was found to be associated with specific factors like food texture, preference, or the effort required to eat.
• Individualized treatments informed by the assessment model led to significant reductions in packing behaviors for 3 children.

Conclusions:

• The developed assessment model effectively identified factors contributing to packing in children.
• This model shows promise for guiding the design of effective, individualized treatment packages for problematic packing behaviors.