Autism spectrum disorder affects an individual's functioning in all areas of their life. Although the main characteristics of people with autism spectrum disorder relate to difficulties in social communication and interaction and the presence of repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior, activities, and interests, other health, cognitive, or behavioral characteristics are often associated with it, including feeding difficulties. These are more common in the population of children with autism spectrum disorder than in the neurotypical population and affect the quality of life not only of the child but of the entire family. Problems such as selective eating, refusal to eat, or choosing unhealthy foods and drinks increase the likelihood of health problems in children. At the same time, with the presence of maladaptive feeding behaviors, prolonged feeding, and possible specific feeding rituals, feeding can also be stressful for the child's parents, negatively impacting the social inclusion of the family and its relationships.
The purpose of the master's thesis was to determine how common and what kind of feeding difficulties preschool children with autism spectrum disorder in Slovenia experience, to assess the impact of these difficulties on the children's health and the functioning of the entire family. We were also interested in what percentage of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder who have feeding difficulties had already received professional help because of these difficulties, and which professionals had provided this help. The study involved twenty-five parents of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. We found that feeding difficulties in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder occur in the majority of children (96%), most commonly manifesting as selective eating that follows a specific pattern and the presence of disruptive behavior during meals. We identified health problems in about half of the children, but the link between the severity of eating difficulties and health problems did not prove to be statistically significant. In more than half of the families of children with autism spectrum disorder included in the study, feeding difficulties also had a negative impact on family functioning. We also found that only a third of children received treatment for feeding difficulties; however, the treatment was not multidisciplinary.
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