Comparing Simultaneous and Sequential Food Presentation to Increase Consumption of Novel Target Foods

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Psychology
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Interventions

Background:

• Food selectivity is a common challenge for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Effective interventions are needed to increase the consumption of nonpreferred foods in educational settings.
• Previous research has explored simultaneous and sequential food presentation methods with mixed results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of simultaneous and sequential food presentation methods.
• To determine the impact of these methods on the consumption of target foods for children with autism in a school setting.
• To provide practical strategies for addressing food selectivity in classrooms.

Main Methods:

• An adapted alternating treatment design was used with three children diagnosed with autism.
• Parents nominated preferred and nonpreferred target foods.
• Two conditions were implemented: simultaneous presentation (preferred and nonpreferred foods together) and sequential presentation (preferred food contingent on nonpreferred food consumption).

Main Results:

• Consumption of nonpreferred foods increased in the sequential condition for two out of three participants.
• The sequential presentation method proved effective without the use of escape extinction.
• The study was conducted in the participants' natural school setting.

Conclusions:

• Sequential food presentation is a viable strategy for increasing nonpreferred food consumption in children with autism in a school environment.
• The findings support the use of sequential presentation over simultaneous presentation for this population and setting.
• Further research comparing sequential and simultaneous food presentation is warranted due to existing mixed results.