Autism MEAL Plan: Parent Training to Manage Eating Aversions & Limited Variety
Condition: Autism Spectrum Disorder
MeSH terms: Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The Autism Managing Eating Aversions and Limited variety (MEAL) Plan is a group-based parent
      training intervention designed to assist parents in increasing the variety of foods eaten in
      children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The goal of the Autism MEAL Plan is to include
      specific techniques to manage mealtime behavioral challenges and introduce new foods.
    

Detailed description: 
      The Autism Managing Eating Aversions and Limited variety (MEAL) Plan is a structured
      parent-mediated, group-based intervention to reduce mealtime disruptive behavior, expand
      dietary diversity and reduce parental stress associated with moderate food selectivity in
      young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

      Children ages 3-8 with a diagnosis of ASD who present with moderate food selectivity and
      associated problem behavior will be screened for inclusion in the study. Following consent
      and screening procedures, parents of eligible children will be assigned to a group-based
      parent training (Autism MEAL plan) or group-based parent education. Each parent will receive
      1.5 hours of intervention per week for 10 weeks by a masters or doctoral level clinician.

      Data will be collected on parental compliance with the Autism MEAL plan and the food
      acceptance of the child as well as nutritional intake, and refusal behaviors. Child
      participants will also be included in parent-child dyad in-vivo feedback sessions. Parents
      assigned to parent education will be able to cross-over to receive the Autism MEAL Plan
      following completion of post-study measures.

      The first aim of the study is to finalize the Autism MEAL Plan materials (e.g., role-play
      activities, activity sheets and video examples). This includes standardizing therapist
      scripts in line with the revised curriculum and creating new video examples that coincide
      with practice worksheets. Home recording (e.g., personal camera phone) to document and
      present home meal data will also be added to the curriculum.

      The second aim is to evaluate the feasibility of the Autism MEAL Plan versus parent education
      in 40 children (20 per treatment assignment) with ASD and moderate feeding problems.

      The final study aim is to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the Autism MEAL Plan in
      expanding food diversity, decreasing disruptive behavior and reducing parental stress
      compared to Parent Education. Methods of evaluating this aim include direct observation,
      parent ratings of behavior, food intake and stress, as well as blinded clinician ratings,
      height, weight and BMI.
    

Intervention name(s): Autism MEAL Plan; Parent Education
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The Autism MEAL plan includes education on feeding issues and behavior management, and specific strategies to expand dietary diversity. Each parent receives 1.5 hours of intervention per week for 10 weeks by a masters or doctoral level clinician. The first three sessions focus on understanding feeding problems and behavior management strategies in children with ASD.The next seven sessions include child-specific feeding interventions, based on parent-report and home data collection of child meal time behavior. To promote application of new skills, homework accompanies each lesson.
The next seven sessions include child-specific feeding interventions, based on parent-report and home data collection of child meal time behavior. To promote application of new skills, homework accompanies each lesson.; The Parent Education study arm includes 10 sessions focusing on the following topics: understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), clinical assessments for ASD, development in children with ASD, medical and genetic comorbidities in ASD, family and sibling issues, treatment alternatives, and education and treatment planning. The Parent Education arm does not include topics related to feeding problems or feeding specific interventions. Each parent receives 1.5 hours of intervention per week for 10 weeks by a masters or doctoral level clinician.
Children randomized to Parent Education will be offered the Autism MEAL Plan after completing the 10-week randomized trial.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Food Selectivity; Autism MEAL Plan; Parent Education