Reduction of Rapid Eating in an Adolescent Female with Autism

Abstract

Rapid eating, a potentially dangerous and socially inappropriate behavior, has received relatively little attention in the literature. This study sought to extend the research in this area by further evaluating the effectiveness of a vibrating pager combined with a rule for increasing inter-response time between bites in one adolescent female diagnosed with autism. Results indicated that inter-response time increased from baseline only after a vocal prompt to "wait" was introduced across clinic and home settings. Implications for promoting autonomy in individuals with developmental disabilities are discussed.This antecedent-based intervention can easily be generalized to caregiversThe unobtrusive nature of the intervention allows for implementation in inclusive settingsThere are implications for promoting social skills in naturalistic environmentsThe intervention can promote independence through teaching self-management.

Decreasing Number of Food Portions Consumed by an Adolescent Female with Autism

“…Lea previously participated in a study that aimed to reduce the pace at which she ate a meal (see Page et al, 2017 ). Although Lea’s parents reported they were happy with the progress Lea had made, her mother expressed concern that Lea “seems to have no sensory input on satiety until she is overly full.” In consequence, Lea’s mother reported that she often restricts access to snack foods.…”

Use of a Preassessment to Inform Treatment of Rapid Eating

“…Although limited research has shown efficacy in treating rapid eating using procedures that increase interresponse time between bites, the literature on preassessment methods to inform treatment remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend procedures used by Page et al Behavior Analysis in Practice, 10 , 87–91 ( 2016 ) to effectively reduce the rapid eating of an adolescent male diagnosed with ASD through the incorporation of a preassessment and treatment package including a vibrating pager, vocal rule, and response blocking. Overall, results of the study demonstrated that the preassessment was effective in determining foods to be included in treatment, and the treatment package was effective in increasing average interresponse time between bites.…”

“…Rapid eating can lead to serious health consequences such as choking (Wright & Vollmer, 2002 ), vomiting, or aspiration (Kedesdy & Budd, 1998 ). In addition, rapid eating can be socially stigmatizing, limiting an individual’s access to certain learning opportunities or environments (e.g., eating independently at restaurants; Favell et al; Page et al, 2016 ). Although research on the application of behavioral interventions to rapid eating is limited, research does support the effective use of behavioral methods to address a variety of feeding related problems (Piazza et al, 2015 ).…”

“…More recent research has incorporated the use of a vibrating pager during treatment of rapid eating for individuals diagnosed with ASD (Anglesea et al, 2008 ; Echeverria & Miltenberger, 2013 ; Page et al, 2016 ; Valentino et al, 2018 ). The use of a vibrating pager may be a particularly beneficial treatment component because it can serve as a discrete prompt to the individual and may allow for fading the presence of another person or level of supervision during meals (Anglesea et al, 2008 ).…”

Reducing rapid eating in adults with Down syndrome: Using token reinforcement to increase interresponse time between bites.

“…The results showed that the verbal prompt was necessary in order to achieve desirable outcomes. Page et al (2017) implemented a similar procedure that also included a timer plus a rule to eat only after the timer vibrated. A vocal prompt issued when the participant attempted to take a bite before the timer vibrated was necessary to increase the IRT to target levels.…”