Development and validation of an inventory to assess mealtime behavior problems in children with autism.

Lukens et al. (2008) built a short parent form called the BAMBI. It asks about 18 mealtime problems that crop up often in kids with autism.

The team checked that the questions hang together and truly measure feeding issues. They also made sure scores do not drift when parents fill it out again.

The BAMBI showed strong internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. In plain words, the items fit well and parents give about the same score next week.

The scale also passed basic validity checks. It picks up mealtime trouble in children with autism and largely leaves neurotypical siblings alone.

Borrero et al. (2016) looked at the same problem from a different angle. They compared short descriptive observations with full functional analyses for food refusal. Their data and the BAMBI parent form can live side-by-side: one gives a quick severity number, the other tells you why the behavior happens.

Guerrero et al. (2022) later showed that watching FA data in real time speeds the process by thirty percent. So you can start with the BAMBI to spot concern, then run a brief FA while visually inspecting graphs to pin down function faster.

Scahill et al. (2015) sifted twenty-four repetitive-behavior tools and crowned only five as trial-ready. Mealtime measures like the BAMBI were not on that short list, but the review still signals a gap the scale helps fill.

If you support children with autism who eat only three foods or scream at the table, start with the free BAMBI. One minute of parent paperwork gives you a baseline number, guides your FA, and shows progress after treatment. Pair it with brief visual inspection during the analysis and you save time without sacrificing accuracy.