An Exploration into Mothers’ Experiences of Feeding Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in South Africa

Adams, Skye Nandi; Dadabhay, Attiya; Neille, Joanne

doi:10.1159/000507928

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…As mentioned, children with ASD are often excluded from mealtimes both at home and at school as a result of their eating and mealtime behaviours. 54 , 55 At home, children will commonly eat on their own, often eating different foods from the rest of the family. This increases their exclusion, resulting in a loss of many experiences that are critical for developing social skills.…”

Section: Conceptualising Asd Feeding Difficulties and Mealtimesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding and Swallowing Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Adams¹

2022

NDT

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Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties related to communication and behaviour. However, their feeding issues are most distressing to their families and healthcare professionals as they impact on the children’s adaptive function and health. In comparison to typically developing children, those with ASD experience significantly more feeding difficulties. Children with ASD may display distinctive feeding difficulties and atypical feeding behaviours that include picky eating, limited independent feeding, need for increased feeding times, and a highly restrictive food repertoire. Many of these feeding difficulties continue into childhood, persist in adolescence, and even spill over into adulthood. This proves to be a formidable challenge, as feeding is an essential component for healthy nutrition, growth, and development. This article will highlight how particular food items that are eaten and preferred by affected children may be contributing to their exhibited feeding difficulties. Next, it will be shown how the children’s restrictive diets supplant more healthy food options. When this is combined with the children’s noted reduced physical activity, the consequences are especially serious, as they include not only malnutrition but also give rise to childhood obesity. In sum, it will be demonstrated that feeding difficulties in young children with ASD are not well understood nor managed. The dearth of knowledge about feeding issues in this population affects both assessment choices and, specifically, management practices – aspects that will be elaborated on in this article. Conclusions will include suggested future directions for enhancing and complementing knowledge of these issues for stakeholders.

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Section: Conceptualising Asd Feeding Difficulties and Mealtimesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding and Swallowing Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Adams¹

2022

NDT

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“…The food preference questionnaire was used to determine foods preferred and not preferred by children with ASD and Notes: 14 If total frequency score > 84 then it is significantly higher than normative mean. If total problem score > 9 then it is significantly higher than normative mean.…”

Section: Preferred and Non-preferred Food Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has indicated that children with ASD living in South Africa may present with problems of picky eating and eating a restricted variety of food items, but there has been limited research exploring preferred and non-preferred food items similar to research reported in other African countries such as Ghana. 14,15 It is therefore imperative that the challenges around feeding a child with ASD, as well as those related to the context, are explored in more detail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mealtime challenges and food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder in South Africa

Adams

Verachia

Coutts

2021

South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a number of associated feeding difficulties and problematic mealtime behaviours. These problems can have a negative impact on the child's nutritional intake and little is known about the food preferences and characteristics of food choices. In addition, these difficulties can be exacerbated for children and caregivers living in low-and middle-income countries such as South Africa due to limited access to food, resources and health care. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine (1) types of feeding difficulties prevalent in children with ASD, (2) food items that children in South Africa prefer, (3) the relationship between age and ASD severity on food preferences. Method: A cross-sectional quantitative research design was employed using an online questionnaire. There was a total of 40 respondents from different provinces in South Africa. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as multiple linear correlation analysis. Results: The study has identified common feeding difficulties in children with ASD and those being diagnosed as picky eaters in South Africa and compared them with difficulties that were found in the international literature. The study also highlighted the food groups that were preferred by children with ASD, showing a preference for starches and snack items compared with fruits and vegetables. In addition, there were significant correlations between ASD severity and ASD age on food preferences, suggesting that both age and severity may be predictors of food choices made by children with ASD, and highlighted a need for multidisciplinary intervention. Conclusions: This study adds to the existing literature on feeding difficulties in children with ASD but provides additional insights into children living in low-and middle-income countries and can be used to improve appropriate and responsive interventions. This study provides evidence that supports the influence of context and family environment regarding feeding in children with ASD.

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“…This is because of the rich cultural and linguistic diversity of the country and, to a certain extent, the effects of Apartheid [2] . In the Apartheid system, which was marked by racial inequality, special schools for black children were underresourced and only a few of them were accessible, with strict admission criteria [3] . Due to the inequalities of services received during the Apartheid era, some of the caregivers or parents were not equipped regarding ASD [4,5] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A narrative review on the prevalence of autism in a South African context

Rearabiloe,

Matlakala,

Tsabedze

et al. 2023

Environ Soc Psychol

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Cultural perspectives are important when exploring caregivers’ experiences. However, not much research has been conducted in South Africa on the experiences of caregivers who are taking care of children living with an autism spectrum disorder. This study was aimed at reviewing literature on the experiences of caregivers living with autistic children. A narrative review was employed as the research method and information was purposively extracted from different databases such as Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and EBSCOHost to collect data. It was gathered that caregivers have insufficient knowledge and understanding regarding the child’s autism diagnosis. We also found that caregivers experience socio-economic and psychological challenges. Little social support is enjoyed by caregivers from community and family members as a coping strategy. Thus, we conclude and recommend that caregivers need a form of intervention that will help or assist their psychosocial well-being while providing care for their children. Moreover, caregivers have limited knowledge of autism and experience psychological challenges that are associated with the autism diagnosis of their child. This affects their subsequent abilities to efficiently provide care to the children.

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An Exploration into Mothers’ Experiences of Feeding Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in South Africa

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Feeding and Swallowing Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Feeding and Swallowing Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Mealtime challenges and food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder in South Africa

A narrative review on the prevalence of autism in a South African context

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