This course examines behavior analytic approaches to addressing food selectivity and picky eating in children. Participants will explore common maintaining variables associated with food refusal, assessment considerations, and reinforcement-based intervention strategies designed to increase food acceptance while minimizing restrictive procedures. Emphasis will be placed on shaping, differential reinforcement, choice-making opportunities, assent-based practices, and gradual progression toward food consumption. Participants will review applied case examples and current literature supporting ethical and effective feeding interventions.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Define food selectivity and identify common characteristics associated with picky eating.
Describe potential behavioral functions related to food refusal and mealtime problem behavior.
Explain the role of shaping and successive approximations in feeding interventions.
Identify components of differential reinforcement procedures used in food selectivity treatment.
Describe how choice-making and assent-based practices can be incorporated into feeding interventions.
Analyze a research-based feeding intervention utilizing gradual progression and reinforcement strategies.
Apply behavior analytic principles to the development of ethical and individualized feeding interventions.
Primary Article Reviewed
Gover, H. C., Hanley, G. P., Ruppel, K. W., Landa, R. K., & Marcus, J. (2023). Prioritizing choice and assent in the assessment and treatment of food selectivity. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 69(1), 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2022.2123196
