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A very common concern among parents of children with autism is selective eating. In fact, it’s such a common concern that it’s become a diagnostic marker for autism spectrum disorder. Many parents want to pass healthy eating habits on to their children, but the limited diets their children prefer are causing severe malnourishment, weight gain or loss, and in some cases, impaired learning.
I have worked with many therapists who recommend that children with autism learn to eat better by simply encouraging them to play with food and look at food, but I’ve found that that approach just doesn’t work. The behavioral approach is different from an oral sensory motor approach, but whatever program you choose is not going to be very successful if the child isn’t tasting the food.
Dr. Keith Williams has taught a parent-oriented approach to feeding, which means he teaches parents how to teach their children how to eat a more varied diet. In today’s episode, he shares some of his short-term and long-term approaches for helping children with autism. He’ll answer some questions that are common in the autism community, like:
Within Dr. Williams’ clinic at Hershey Medical Center, he’s seen children with scurvy, pellagra, rickets, and iron deficiency, but he knows how hard it can be to diagnose children with vitamin and mineral deficiencies. He shares some physical clues that he looks for in his patients’ bodies, but he also talks about the clues he finds in his patients’ diets.
Keeping an eye on the ultimate goal of children with autism eating a variety of food, Dr. Williams shares some strategies that parents can implement today that will realistically address a child’s immediate needs. And he shares some resources and strategies for how to help children with autism stretch their taste buds and try new things in the future.
Today’s Guest
Dr. Williams has been the Director of the Feeding Program at Penn State Hershey Medical Center for 23 years. He is a licensed psychologist and a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. In addition to providing clinical service, he supervises two Master’s-level therapists. Dr. Williams has over 60 publications, including three books, in the area of childhood feeding problems and pediatric nutrition. Dr. Williams presents at regional, national, and international conferences.
He was recently a Fulbright Specialist at the National University of Ireland. Dr. Williams provides outreach training to community providers both locally and nationally. Dr. Williams is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Penn State College of Medicine. He teaches residents, medical students, and graduate students. Dr. Williams has been active with the Pennsylvania Association of Behavior Analysis (Penn ABA) serving as both president and member-at-large. He is the incoming Executive Director.
You’ll Learn
Resources
