Modifying Nutrition Education Intervention Materials for Children with ASD: From Toddlers to Preschoolers and Their Parents
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Mentor Information
Dr. Heewon Gray
Description
To reduce unhealthy eating patterns and problematic mealtime behaviors commonly observed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the Autism Eats nutrition intervention program was developed for toddlers under three years old with ASD. The intervention consists of 10 weekly lessons, 30-minutes each, followed by 2 monthly booster lessons. Social media and website components are available as additional resources. Recognizing the need for nutrition intervention tailored to preschoolers with ASD, the aim of this project was to modify the Autism Eats intervention for preschoolers with ASD (3-5 years old) and their parents. Qualitative data collected from interviews with providers and parents of children with ASD were incorporated in material modifications. Developmentally appropriate resources and evidence-based feeding strategies were further incorporated into the preschooler materials. All data collected revealed that several activities from the earlier version are still applicable for the preschooler version (e.g., sensory activities), however, lesson modifications needed to be made for the preschooler’s version of the provider manual and parent handbook. Key changes included: (1) Removing developmentally inappropriate words for preschoolers like “baby”; (2) Lengthening each session from 25 minutes to 30 minutes; (3) Adding recipes for preschoolers and parents to prepare together; (4) Including more visual aids for step-by-step meal preparation. Participant feedback and developmentally appropriate lesson modifications are key for ongoing nutrition intervention development for individuals of all ages with ASD. The modified “Autism Eats: Preschoolers” will be pilot-tested for its feasibility and acceptability, with a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study.
Modifying Nutrition Education Intervention Materials for Children with ASD: From Toddlers to Preschoolers and Their Parents
To reduce unhealthy eating patterns and problematic mealtime behaviors commonly observed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the Autism Eats nutrition intervention program was developed for toddlers under three years old with ASD. The intervention consists of 10 weekly lessons, 30-minutes each, followed by 2 monthly booster lessons. Social media and website components are available as additional resources. Recognizing the need for nutrition intervention tailored to preschoolers with ASD, the aim of this project was to modify the Autism Eats intervention for preschoolers with ASD (3-5 years old) and their parents. Qualitative data collected from interviews with providers and parents of children with ASD were incorporated in material modifications. Developmentally appropriate resources and evidence-based feeding strategies were further incorporated into the preschooler materials. All data collected revealed that several activities from the earlier version are still applicable for the preschooler version (e.g., sensory activities), however, lesson modifications needed to be made for the preschooler’s version of the provider manual and parent handbook. Key changes included: (1) Removing developmentally inappropriate words for preschoolers like “baby”; (2) Lengthening each session from 25 minutes to 30 minutes; (3) Adding recipes for preschoolers and parents to prepare together; (4) Including more visual aids for step-by-step meal preparation. Participant feedback and developmentally appropriate lesson modifications are key for ongoing nutrition intervention development for individuals of all ages with ASD. The modified “Autism Eats: Preschoolers” will be pilot-tested for its feasibility and acceptability, with a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study.
