Targeted Nutritional and Behavioral Feeding Intervention for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Table 1

Operational definitions of child behaviors.

Behavior	Definition
Bite acceptance	Opening mouth 1.3 cm or wider within 5 s of the bite presentation and allowing food placement in mouth Placing food in mouth within 5 s of bite presentation
Bite consumption	Swallows bite and mouth is clean of food
Expulsion	Appearance of food past the outer edge of lips following an acceptance
Gag	Open mouth accompanied with guttural sound; regurgitative spasm in the throat
Vomit	To eject part or all of stomach contents through the mouth
Aggression	Any physical contact from child to therapist, supervisor, or parent
Disruption	Includes physical refusal, verbal refusal, and vocal refusal
Physical refusal	Turning head when bite is presented or pushing away plate, fork, spoon, or cup
Verbal refusal	Child verbally states that he does not want the food
Vocal refusal	Screaming or making vocal sound contingent on bite presentation