Feeding disorder of infancy or early childhood: How often is it seen in feeding programs?

To date, there is lirle consensus in the literature on defining childhood feding disorders. The definition of feeding disorder of infancy and early childhood included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mintal Disorders (4th ed., text revision [DSM-IV-TR])assumed the disorder is due to a nonorganic etiology. The goal of this study was to examine the prevalence of feeding disorder of infancy and early childhood as defined by the DSM-IV-TR in a sample of 234 children referred to a feeding program. The results showed only 19 of these children met the ESM-IV-TR definition. The implications of this finding are discussed.