An Overview of Feeding Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review

Aims

To critically synthesise current scientific evidence on feeding difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), considering the sensory, behavioural, gastrointestinal, nutritional, and oral-motor domains. Study Design: Structured critical narrative review informed by recent reviews, with or without meta-analysis. Methodology: A targeted PubMed/MEDLINE search was used to identify recent English-language reviews, with or without meta-analysis, relevant to feeding difficulties in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free-text terms related to autism spectrum disorder, feeding behaviour, food selectivity, sensory processing, gastrointestinal symptoms, nutritional status, and oral-motor function were combined using the Boolean operators AND and OR. Reviews addressing at least one of the five predefined domains were considered, and evidence was synthesised descriptively and thematically.