Although clinicians typically assume that feeding problems co-exist with a diagnosis of autism, no previous research has compared the eating behavior of children with autism to typically developing children. This study compared caregiver report of eating problems of children with and without autism on a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire included items pertaining to food refusal and acceptance patterns as well as food presentation requirements. Caregivers were also asked to complete a food inventory that indicated the number of foods eaten within each food group for both the child and the family. Results indicated children with autism have significantly more feeding problems and eat a significantly narrower range of foods than children without autism.

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Summary Evidence demonstrates that health professionals have limited knowledge about childhood sleep, frequently do not screen for these problems and often rely on parents to raise sleep issues at clinic visits. However, little is known about parents’ sleep knowledge. The goal of this study was to assess parents’ knowledge of sleep and specifically: (i) sleep aspects related to the age of children; (ii) developmentally normal sleep; and (iii) sleep problems that may lead to parents’ ability to raise sleep issues at clinic visits. This study evaluated the knowledge of 170 parents of children aged 2–17 years about infant, child and adolescent sleep patterns and problems. The majority of parents could not answer correctly questions about developmental sleep patterns or sleep problems, but were more likely to answer correctly questions about normal infant sleep patterns and about sleep problems during waking hours. Parents also were more likely to answer ‘don’t know’ to questions about: (i) older children and adolescents; (ii) sleep apnea; and (iii) dreams and nightmares. The implications of these findings for the identification, intervention and prevention of childhood sleep problems are discussed.

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