The Effects of Choice Between Nonpreferred Foods on the Food Consumption of Individuals with Food Selectivity

Abstract

Previous research has concluded that presenting individuals with the opportunity to choose is a viable treatment for general escape-maintained behavior. Considering food refusal has been generally described as avoidant behavior, the present study aimed to evaluate the role of choice between non-preferred foods on the food consumption and problematic mealtime behavior of two children with food selectivity. Each participant was allowed to choose between four non-preferred foods in the choice condition and was not allowed to choose in the no-choice condition. Further, the role of choice as an antecedent manipulation in mediating the negative effects of escape extinction was evaluated when choice alone was demonstrated to be ineffective in increasing consumption. Results indicated that providing choices is an effective non-aversive intervention strategy in increasing the food consumption of individuals with food vi selectivity as well as advantageous in decreasing the negative side-effects of more intrusive consequence interventions when necessary to implement.

Interventions for Increasing Acceptance of New Foods Among Children and Adults with Developmental Disorders: A Systematic Review

“…Parental implementation M = 96%. a Two sessions at 7-monthsFernand et al (2016), USACase seriesN: 2Ages: 6 and 7Gender: F and M (respectively)Diagnoses: both ASDNot reportedChoice of 2 of 4 non-preferred foods presented + NRS (if did not self-feed). versus NRS alone without a choice of foods47–51 sessions✓✓Choice intervention increased the number and frequency of accepted non-preferred bites consumed for one participant.…”

“…put spoonful of preferred food in the mouth) before asking them to perform a low-probability task (e.g. put a spoonful of non-preferred food in the mouth) (Ewry and Fryling 2016)4 Choice of foodsAllowing the person a choice between different non-preferred foods (Fernand et al 2016)1 Access to preferred foodThe preferred food is offered before the non-preferred food is presented4Family and environmental methods PsychoeducationPsychoeducation involves providing education and information to family members about selective eating in the DD population2 Parental trainingMost of the techniques described are implemented by clinicians or researchers. Parental training is designed so that parents can implement some strategies themselves6 Mealtime plansMealtime plans are implemented by the family and focus on areas such as communication, food, social and physical environment during mealtimes (Muldoon and Cosbey 2018)1 Positive behavioural support (PBS)A multi-component intervention that aims to support an individual with DD.…”

“…This illustrates that although different outcomes were measured, similar techniques were used whether the target was on a macro (whole new foods eaten) or micro scale (bites of a new food presented). Exposure techniques were more commonly used when attempting to increase the number of new foods eaten (Barahona et al 2013; Brown et al 2002) and EE techniques were employed in most effective interventions increasing acceptance of bites (Fernand et al 2016; Najdowski et al 2010). Nevertheless, both techniques were successful for both outcomes.…”

A comparison of two multicomponent treatment packages for food refusal

“…This study demonstrated that DRA and EE was more effective than RC, EE, and DRA for improving the participant's bite and drink consumption, IMB, and total gram intake. It adds to the research literature evaluating different treatment packages for treating food refusal and selectivity in children (Addison et al, ; Fernand et al, ; Piazza et al, ; Seiverling et al, ; Van Dalen & Penrod, ) as it directly compares these two treatment packages. No differences were observed in child responding between treatments until after the empty spoon condition.…”

“…A few studies have compared the effectiveness of different multicomponent packages on child mealtime behavior directly (Addison et al, ; Fernand, Penrod, Fu, Whelan, & Medved, ; Piazza et al, ; Seiverling, Harclerode, & Williams, ; Van Dalen & Penrod, ). Piazza et al () compared two behavioral interventions, simultaneous presentation (i.e., preferred foods presented at the same time as the nonpreferred food) and sequential presentation (i.e., presentation of preferred food after acceptance of the nonpreferred food) on acceptance of nonpreferred foods in three children with food selectivity and pervasive developmental disorder.…”