Pediatric feeding disorders are com

Pediatric feeding disorders are common among children with developmental disabilities and can have detrimental effects on growth and development. An escape extinction and negative reinforcement-based approach to treating food refusal was examined in a child with cerebral palsy. A changing criterion treatment design was implemented, which allowed the child to exit the treatment area contingent upon the acceptance and ingestion of a pre-determined number ofbites. Food acceptance ranged from one to three bites at baseline and exceeded the pre-set criteria for mastery, at 14 bites during the final intervention phase.