Healthy Eating ASD

NCT04075552 | Withdrawn

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00005814
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: N/A
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Most studies which have addressed food selectivity among children with autism spectrum disorders have been conducted in either clinic or home settings. School-based research has been conducted to increase healthy eating, but this research was largely conducted with children without special needs or if children with special needs did participate, they were not identified. This study will focus on increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables among children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in a school setting.

Conditions

Food Selectivity

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Increased consumption of healthy foods

  Direct measure of the number of healthy foods items eaten

  Through study completion, 1 year.

Study Arms (1)

Participants

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants are students from a specialized school for children with autism.

Behavioral: Pre Meal Presentation; Behavioral: Pre Meal Presentation + Modeling; Behavioral: Pre Meal Presentation + Token Economy

Interventions

Pre Meal Presentation BEHAVIORAL

Pre-Meal Presentation. In the Pre-Meal Presentation (PMP) condition, school staff delivered the plate of vegetable pieces prior to students regularly scheduled lunchtime (about 5 min). Like baseline, no programmed consequences were provided for student interaction or consumption of the vegetables.

Participants

Pre Meal Presentation + Modeling BEHAVIORAL

Similar to the prior condition, each participant will be offered a plate containing target foods for 4 min. Once the plate has been delivered to each participant, a staff person will model eating the food. The model will have an identical plate of food. Within six feet of students oriented towards the model (i.e., the students will be facing the model), the model will pick up one piece of food, say "Yum, this looks good" in a loud and excited tone, eat it, and then deliver a "soft" prompt to the participants to try it (e.g., "You should try this!"). Staff will avoid giving a firm/hard demand (e.g., "Eat the food"). Repeat this for four pieces of food, alternating between the two target foods, with about 10-20 sec between each bite. Repeat the model as necessary based on the room arrangement, such that each students contacts the model within six feet while oriented towards the model.

Participants

Pre Meal Presentation + Token Economy BEHAVIORAL

Similar to prior condition, expect each participant can earn tokens for eating food items. Tokens can be exchanged for small prizes (e.g., pencil or sticker) at the end of a session.

Participants

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 14 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Participants will be students in a private school with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder and between 6-14 years of age.

You may not qualify if:

• Parents who report their children have food allergies of any kind will be excluded.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Penn State University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Hogan Learning Academy

Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, 19522, United States

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Psychology

Model Details: Single subject research methodology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 28, 2019
• First Posted: August 30, 2019
• Study Start: September 23, 2016
• Primary Completion: September 26, 2022
• Study Completion: September 26, 2022
• Last Updated: September 28, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-09

Locations

US (1)