ABSTRACT
Objective
An evaluation instrument was developed to assess the eating behavior of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), both from the professional viewpoint and based on aspects identified as problematic by parents at semi-structured interviews.
Methods
A multidisciplinary team analyzed content validity. The scale was applied verbally and individually to parents of individuals with ASD for semantic adjustment. Overall, 298 individuals answered this preliminary version of the scale, with varimax rotation being used to analyze the principal components.
Results
Of the 53 items initially developed to assess the construct, 33 proved valid for evaluation of the attribute and three were added, thus obtaining the second version of the scale, which was then answered by 130 individuals. Of the 35 items that remained after the first factor analysis, 26 proved valid for evaluation of the attribute and were divided into seven domains: the motricity of chewing, food selectivity, mealtime skills, inappropriate mealtime behavior, inflexible eating-related behavior, hostility towards food, and food allergies and intolerance. The final structure of the scale was composed of 26 items, distributed in seven factors, presenting an overall reliability value of 0.867.
Conclusion
The scale aims to identify the areas of eating behavior that are altered in individuals with ASD, allowing more specific therapy to be implemented. The tool could also be used to measure the effectiveness of treatment.
Eating behavior; ASD; evaluation scale; autism
