Parental report of eating problems and gastrointestinal symptoms in children with pervasive developmental disorders

Parents of children of 89 children with pervasive developmental disorder were surveyed about their child's eating, gastrointestinal symptoms, and behavior problems. Results revealed potentially interesting relationships among self-injurious behavior, pica, feeding problems, and gastrointestinal symptoms in this population. Although over 60% of children were reported to have strong food preferences, only 6.7% of parents reported that their child had a feeding problem. Most children exhibited high rates of pica and self-injurious behavior that affected the family's quality of life. Some children experienced at least one symptom of gastrointestinal distress weekly, and bowel problems appeared to be related to some aspects of feeding. Although methodological issues limit these data, future research should focus on further relations among these factors in this population.