Food selectivity is a common problem in many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While research into this area is beginning to develop, there are currently few studies investigating the use of parent-implemented interventions within this population. The present study aimed to teach parents to implement multi-component behavioural interventions at home to ameliorate the food selectivity of their children. The study also aimed to show that these interventions could increase children’s preference for previously nonpreferred foods. Five children and their parents participated. The interventions delivered to the children were tailored to meet their needs and to fit within the context of their families. Each of these interventions was composed of antecedent, positive reinforcement and escape extinction strategies. Parents recorded their children’s food acceptance and disruptive behaviours during each intervention session. In addition, preference assessments were conducted in order to track changes in the children’s preferences for the target foods. The results showed that all of the parents were able to introduce at least one new food to their children’s diets during the intervention. Further, four of the five children showed an improvement in their preference for the targeted foods. These results were maintained at follow-up, although two of the children had only maintained some of the foods that had been introduced. All of the parents reported that their children consumed more foods at follow-up than they had during baseline and indicated that they thought the interventions had been effective. These results indicate that parents are able to implement multi-component behavioural interventions to increase the range of foods in their children’s diets and improve their children’s preference for these foods.

The effects of two positive reinforcement procedures were evaluated to increase contact with, proximity to, and acceptance of new foods in a young child with autism. During baseline, two groups of six food items were presented. One group was intervened on. The first condition involved a changing criterion contingency and social attention as a consequence. The second involved a shaping contingency and access to videos as a consequence. The types of contact emitted, the amount of time spent contacting the food, and two affect topographies were measured. The second procedure resulted in increased duration and variety of contact, and increases of both affect topographies. Results are discussed in the context of food selectivity in autism, programming goals, and balancing intervention efficacy and restrictiveness.

Traditionally children with developmental disabilities who develop feeding issues can be at great risk for malnutrition. Failure to eat adequate amounts of food and/or insistence on eating a limited range of foods can be detrimental to a child's health and can lead to other behavioral difficulties. Feeding problems are difficult to treat because high levels of physical prompting can quickly create an aversion to eating as well as cause stress for both parents and children. Behavioral problems that range from moderate to extremely maladaptive can ensue. The question the present study addressed was whether or not a treatment package including only positive reinforcement and fading for a non-preferred food would result in independent eating of the targeted non-preferred food.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:38:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eduardo Fraga de Almeida Prado.pdf: 424655 bytes, checksum: 0063d95661241621fd775e971f00bc99 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-20 / Feeding disorders is a term that comprehends a wide range of symptoms or complaints that include refusal and food selectivity. It has a multifactorial etiology and it involves biological, genetic, psychological, sociocultural and family-related factors. The consideration of the mother as being co-responsible for the child s eating habits is consensual, although it is impossible to identify where the difficulties arise in causal terms, whether from the mother s feelings or the child s behavior. The literature on the subject emphasizes childhood as the period par excellence for both the etiology and the extinction of the condition, often interpreting it as a "natural" stage in terms of development. The arising or persistency of food selectivity in adults is a less common phenomenon, normally classified as an unspecified eating disorder and, at first, it lacks further studies. With the assistance of Donald Woods Winnicott s Theory of Personal Development, this research aims at contributing to the understanding of the etiology and the possible therapeutic management of adult patients with food selectivity. In order to accomplish such task, we covered Winnicott's work with an exploratory approach, focusing on the items that could contribute to the subject of this study. Therefore, it was possible to approach the food selectivity phenomenon based on at least two assumptions: (1) as a defense mechanism of obsessive nature, (2) as a defense mechanism to try to deal with a persecutory anxiety. Lastly, in spite of the hypotheses explored in the survey, the conclusion points to the need for further studies in search of psychodynamic understanding of the food selectivity phenomenon / Distúrbios de apetite é um termo que abarca uma gama variada de sintomas ou queixas que incluem recusa e seletividade alimentar. Sua etiologia é multifatorial estando envolvidos fatores biológicos, genéticos, psicológicos, socioculturais e familiares. É consenso considerar a mãe co-responsável pelo padrão alimentar da criança, ainda que seja impossível apontar por onde começam as dificuldades em termos causais, se nos sentimentos da mãe ou no comportamento da criança. A literatura referente ao tema enfatiza a infância como o período privilegiado tanto da etiologia quanto da extinção do quadro, muitas vezes associando-o como uma etapa natural do desenvolvimento. A origem ou persistência de um quadro de seletividade alimentar em indivíduos adultos é um fenômeno menos comum que costuma ser classificado como um transtorno alimentar não especificado e, em princípio, carece de maiores estudos. Recorrendo à Teoria do Amadurecimento Pessoal de Donald Woods Winnicott, esta pesquisa teve por objetivo contribuir para a compreensão da etiologia e possível manejo terapêutico com pacientes adultos seletivos. Para tanto foi percorrido em caráter exploratório a obra de Winnicott enfocando os artigos que poderiam contribuir para o objeto deste estudo. Assim, foi possível aproximar-se do fenômeno da seletividade alimentar enquanto uma manifestação sintomática decorrente da não apropriação dos impulsos agressivos-destrutivos ao self. Em um segundo momento, apresentou-se um estudo de caso com vistas a relacionar a teoria com a prática clínica. Neste, a seletividade alimentar pôde ser compreendida ao menos a partir de duas modalidades defensivas: (1) enquanto um mecanismo de defesa de caráter obsessivo; (2) enquanto um mecanismo de defesa na tentativa de lidar com uma ansiedade persecutória. Por fim, em que pese a hipótese explorada na pesquisa, conclui-se pela necessidade de novos estudos em busca da compreensão psicodinâmica do fenômeno da seletividade alimentar

Food selectivity exhibited by children with autism creates a myriad of barriers for families and children, ranging from social to nutritional. The typical approach to food selectivity is pathological. The pathological approach attempts to eliminate food selectivity through the use of techniques such as escape extinction. While successful in decreasing aspects of food challenges, such as food refusals, the pathological approach does not necessarily establish desired responses to foods or mealtimes (e.g., favorable affect, approach, generalized sampling, etc.). The purpose of the current study was to explore an alternative, constructional approach to food challenges presented by two children diagnosed with autism. This approach focuses on the development of favorable responses to food through the use of shaping. Furthermore, the shaping process involved a conceptual and procedural widening of the stimulus and response classes selected. The results of a non-concurrent multiple baseline experiment, suggest this approach was successful in expanding the number of food the children tasted and ate while maintaining favorable or neutral affect and child assent.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:31:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissFEM.pdf: 2350745 bytes, checksum: c4041a3f7f82892ef0c37b2ea2b15d8d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-31 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The trophic ecology and bioenergetic aspects of most small fishes were not yet investigated, although they are important components in the ictiofauna, largely contributing to the richness of species and to the energy flow in aquatic ecosystems. The energy budgets and the food selectivity of two species of small fishes, Hyphessobrycon eques and Serrapinnus notomelas, were analysed. Natural populations were sampled from Monjolinho River, São Carlos, SP, in the period between September to December 2005, and January to April 2006. Food selectivity experiments and energy budgets experiments were performed in the laboratory using planktonic and benthic invertebrates as food items. Food selection was evaluated by Paloheimo index, by calculating the normalized forage ratio. Both species had preference and positive selection for the dipteran larvae Aedes aegypti, Chironomus xanthus and Chaoborus sp., as well as for the cladocerans Daphnia laevis and Ceriodaphnia silvestrii. They presented negative selection or absence of selection for Hyalella meinerti and Cypricercus mucronata. The positive selection of both species of fishes for the larvae of Aedes aegypti evidenced that they have potential to be used in the biological control on dengue disease epidemies. The results obtained from the energy balances revealed that S. notomelas has higher consumption and assimilation rates than H. eques, however its production efficiency is lower as a consequence of higher metabolic expenditures. On average the production efficiency was 53% for H. eques and 22% for S. notomelas. The values obtained for the instantaneous net production efficiency of both species were higher than those reported in the literature for carnivorous fishes (20%) and also higher than those reported for natural populations of small fishes in tropical regions. / A ecologia trófica e os aspectos bioenergéticos da maioria dos peixes de pequeno porte são desconhecidos, embora sejam componentes importantes da ictiofauna, contribuindo grandemente para a riqueza de espécies, e para o fluxo de energia dos ecossistemas aquáticos. Os balanços energéticos e a seletividade alimentar de duas espécies de peixes de pequeno porte, Hyphessobrycon eques e Serrapinnus notomelas, foram estudados. As populações naturais foram amostradas no rio Monjolinho, São Carlos, SP, entre setembro e dezembro de 2005, e janeiro a abril de 2006. Os experimentos de seletividade alimentar e de balanço energético foram realizados em laboratório, utilizando-se invertebrados planctônicos e bentônicos como itens alimentares. Ambas espécies apresentaram seleção positiva para: larvas de Aedes aegypti, Daphnia laevis, Ceriodaphnia silvestrii, Chironomus xanthus, Chaoborus sp, Oligochaeta e ausência de seleção ou seleção negativa para Hyalella meinerti e Cypricercus mucronata. A seleção alimentar positiva para as larvas de Aedes aegypti evidenciam estas espécies como promissoras para o controle biológico preventivo de epidemias de dengue. O balanço energético evidenciou que S. notomelas apresenta maior consumo e assimilação superior à de H. eques, contudo a sua eficiência de produção é menor, devido aos gastos mais elevados com a respiração. Ambas espécies tiveram eficiências instantâneas de produção líquida (K2i), mais elevadas do que aquelas reportadas na literatura como referência padrão para peixes com alimentação de origem animal, e também mais elevadas do que aquelas reportadas às populações naturais de peixes de pequeno porte em região tropical.

De-worming is an important and well-researched part of equine husbandry. However, the de-worming process has been problematic as horses often display avoidance behavior toward the oral administration of the paste. The current study was designed to investigate a force-free method to teach equines to voluntary ingest five novel target stimuli including de-wormer. This method was based on a fading procedure. Participants were initially presented with a highly preferred food stimulus. Over the course of the study, the target stimuli were blended into the highly preferred food stimulus at increasingly higher ratios. By the end of the procedure, only the target stimuli were presented. Four horses participated in the study. After treatment, three of the four horses voluntarily ingested all five target stimuli. The fourth horse voluntarily ingested two novel stimuli and the other three novel stimuli if blended with three quarters of an ounce of pellets. Overall, the procedure was successful and provides a non-aversive alternative to existing de-worming strategies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:17:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lais Sassaki Furine.pdf: 2715962 bytes, checksum: ff253bd8d518e97ce2eb3ba8467fcbe8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-15 / The objective of the present study was to assess whether a sequence of instructions or the manipulation of food shape would improve the acceptance of fruit by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Furthermore, it aimed to determine if this acceptance would remain with fading of shape manipulation and progressive reduction of instructions. Two boys with ASD, 3 and 8 years old, participated as subjects. The sessions took place at the participant s home at intermediate snack times. The procedure was divided into three phases: (1) Pre-test that confirmed fruit rejection; (2) Sequence Instructions (SI) that promoted successive approximations to the fruit; (3) Format Manipulation (FM) in which the fruits were initially presented in ludic shapes preferred by the child and then had their format vanished until the fruit was presented in its regular shape. Forty days after the end of the last phase, a Follow-up session was conducted. Two fruits were presented to each child in the SI and MF phases. The fruit s selection was based on the list of fruits Food Guide for the Brazilian Population (2005), and followed the criteria of rejection by the children and their seasonality, prioritizing flavor and color. The dependent variables were the percentage of compliance with instructions, the consumption of each fruit and the frequency of active refusal. The results showed that for both participants the SI procedure was associated with the consumption of previously rejected fruits. The FM procedure was effective for only one participant. Follow-up data showed the maintenance of fruits consumption previously rejected. In order to assist the mothers of the participants to maintain the activities performed during the study and encourage the inclusion of new foods to children s diet, the researcher elaborated materials for each family, based on the results obtained. The intra-subject design used in this study offered evidence for the need of individualized interventions that take into account the history and the characteristics of each participant / O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar se procedimentos que utilizam uma sequência de instruções ou que manipulam o formato do alimento seriam capazes de melhorar a aceitação de frutas por crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA). Além disso, pretendeu-se verificar se a aceitação se manteria com a suspensão gradual da manipulação da forma e com a redução progressiva das instruções. Participaram do estudo dois meninos com diagnóstico de TEA, com 3 e 8 anos de idade. As sessões ocorreram na casa dos participantes nos horários de lanches intermediários. O procedimento foi dividido em três fases: (1) Pré-teste que comprovou a rejeição das frutas; (2) Sequência de Instruções (SI) na qual foram utilizadas instruções de aproximação sucessiva ao alimento; (3) Manipulação do Formato (MF) em que as frutas foram inicialmente apresentadas em formas lúdicas preferidas pela criança e depois tiveram o formato esvanecido até que a fruta fosse apresentada em formato regular. Transcorridos 40 dias do final do procedimento, foi realizado o Seguimento. Nas fases SI e MF foram apresentadas duas frutas para cada criança. A seleção foi baseada na lista de frutas do Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira (2005), e teve como critérios a rejeição e sazonalidade, priorizando sabor e cores. As variáveis dependentes foram o seguimento das instruções, o consumo de cada fruta e a frequência de respostas de recusa ativa. Os resultados mostraram que para ambos os participantes o procedimento de SI foi acompanhado pelo consumo das frutas previamente rejeitadas ocorresse. Já o procedimento de MF foi associado ao consumo somente para um dos participantes. Os dados do Seguimento apontaram que houve manutenção do consumo das frutas utilizadas nas fases anteriores. Com o intuito de auxiliar as mães dos participantes a manter as atividades realizadas durante o estudo e favorecer a inclusão de novos alimentos à dieta dos mesmos, foram elaborados materiais para cada família, com base nos resultados obtidos. O delineamento intra-sujeito empregado neste estudo permitiu verificar a necessidade de planejamento de intervenções individualizadas, que considerem a história e as características de cada participante

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a video model, graduated exposure (i.e., touch, smell, try, eat), and positive reinforcement to first increase food exploration, and then increase consumption of non-preferred foods in young children that exhibit food selectivity in a school setting. A multiple probe design across behaviors replicated across participants was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment package. The treatment package consisted of a video model of each target behavior (touch, smell, try, eat) and positive reinforcement which included preferred foods and materials. The results indicated that the treatment package was effective in increasing the food exploration and consumption of non-preferred foods for one participant, and was inconclusive for the second participant.