Typology of Feeding Disorders Based on a Single Assessment System: Case Study Evidence

Abstract

Six children diagnosed with different forms of food refusal participated as case study descriptions. Along with their treatment outcomes, these descriptions show enough significant differences between them to allow for accurate yet potentially disparate assessments. Outcomes of these assessments then led to the separate application of effective treatment strategies. The 6 children accounted for 6 types of food refusal related to medical problems, learning dependent (natural but extreme levels of food neophobia), selective (developmental delay), selective (autism-related), selective (sensory defensive-related), and fear based (food phobia). Each of these children attended a combined pediatric psychology and dietetic feeding consultation within a Child Development Centre situated in the English National Health Service. During the consultation process, it was possible to accurately delineate between these 6 different forms of food refusal using a single multidisciplinary assessment strategy (see the authors’ other article in this issue). Furthermore, all but 1 of the treatment strategies (selective autism-related) was successful at increasing dietary variety in terms of both volume and range, through specific and appropriate holistic interventions. It was also uncovered through the comparison of the different cases that 4 of the 6 food refusal subtypes exhibited varying degrees of sensory defensiveness that benefited from play therapy. © 2010, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved.