Correlation Between Feeding Dysfunction and Communication in Early Childhood with Autistic Traits

Autistic traits begin to emerge in the first year of life and can be detected between 6 and 18 months of age. Children with ASD often exhibit feeding and communication difficulties in early childhood, which may be indicative of underlying developmental challenges. While occurrence of feeding dysfunction and communication difficulties is well established, the relationship between these two variables in early childhood is poorly understood. Children in the age range of 11 to 24 months, were taken for the study. PediEAT (Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool) and CSBS-DP (Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile), questionnaires were administered. Feeding intervention (aroma therapy with oro-motor stimulation) were given to all 30 participants for five days a week for six weeks for 30 minutes. After six week of therapy post data was collected by administering PediEAT and CSBS DP in all the children. After the statistical analysis the overall findings indicated that the presence of feeding dysfunction is having moderate positive correlation (r .31, p ≤ 0.04) with communication in early childhood with risk for autistic traits.