Detailed contribution information
| Contribution title | 2996 - Promoting eating pleasure for children with autism spectrum disorders in a constantly changing world |
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| Contribution code | PS03-18 (P) |
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| Form of presentation | Poster |
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| Abstract |
Objectives: The purpose of this communication is to present results arising from three studies on the sensory perception of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their implications in food acceptance. The primary aim of the first two studies was to examine whether the visual and olfactory perception of children with ASD differs from that of typically developed (TD) children at the sensorimotor (visual or olfactory exploration) and affective levels (hedonic evaluation). The second aim was to investigate a potential link between the children’s perception and their attitude towards unfamiliar foods (food neophobia). We thus examined (study 3) the effects of familiarisation with an odour in order to increase its pleasantness and encourage the choice of food giving off this odour. Methods: For all the studies, we collected psychophysical hedonic responses (verbal for studies 1 and 3 and with a keyboard for study 2). For study 1, we used video-recording during the olfactory session in order to scrutinise the children’s exploratory behaviour. For study 2, we used an eye-tracking device to isolate the visual sampling strategies deployed during the viewing of pictures of food. In the last study, we filmed the olfactory sessions and used facial expression analysis to measure the type of facial emotions (positive, negative) that were expressed. We completed the analyses by characterising the familiarisation session using a qualitative approach and analysing the food chosen by the children. Results: We found a relationship between the children’s visual and olfactory appreciation of food and their eating behaviour. The role played by olfaction and sight in the construction of eating behaviour among the children with ASD was enhanced. In particular, when it comes to sight, our data show that the ASD population paid more attention to visually food details. The third study shows that the appreciation of the familiarised odour increased with the familiarisation process. It also indicates that particularly children with more sensory characteristics tended to choose food with the familiarised odour. Conclusion: The perceptual profile of children with ASD should be taken into account when designing pedagogical methods for constructing their eating behaviour. Such considerations could help them to face a food world which they think is changing more than TD children do. |