Eating Challenges in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Development and Validation of the "Aut-Eat" Questionnaire (AEQ)

Eynat Gal; Rotem Gal-Mishael; Roni Enten Vissoker; Darren Hedley; Simon M Bury; Orit Stolar

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-04978-x

Eating Challenges in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Development and Validation of the "Aut-Eat" Questionnaire (AEQ)

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Feb;52(2):811-822. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-04978-x. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Authors

Eynat Gal¹, Rotem Gal-Mishael², Roni Enten Vissoker², Darren Hedley³, Simon M Bury³, Orit Stolar⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel. eynatgal@gmail.com.
² Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel.
³ Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ Shamir Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, Autism Center, Zerifin, Israel.

PMID: 33792802
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04978-x

Abstract

The Aut-Eat Questionnaire (AEQ) provides a novel and comprehensive assessment of eating problems and patterns in children with ASD. To establish the internal consistency and discriminant validity of the AEQ, parents of children with ASD (n = 105, M_age = 40.85, SD = 15.67 months) or typical development (TD; n = 98, M_age = 50.33, SD = 16.50 months) completed the AEQ. Questionnaire construction, content validity, factor analysis, internal consistency and discriminant validity are reported. The AEQ was reliable with high internal consistency in most domains. Significant differences were found between groups in all domains. The AEQ is a reliable and valid tool and may help to characterize eating difficulties in this population.

Keywords: Autism eating assessment; Autism spectrum disorder (ASD); Eating problems.

MeSH terms

Adult
Autism Spectrum Disorder* / diagnosis
Child
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Humans
Middle Aged
Parents
Problem Behavior*
Surveys and Questionnaires