Evaluation of empirical pretreatment assessments for developing treatments for expulsion in pediatric feeding disorders

Scotchie and her team worked with three kids who kept spitting out food. Each child was between two and five years old. All had a feeding disorder and threw out more than half of every bite.

The researchers ran a fast multielement probe. In one session they gave a tiny bite. In another they used smooth puree. In another they touched the lip gently first. They rotated these conditions until they saw which combo cut expulsion to almost zero.

Every child had a different winner. One boy spat least when bites were tiny and placed on his back molars. One girl kept food in when she got a smooth spoonful after a simple lip prompt. The third child needed bigger bites plus a quick pause before the spoon arrived.

Once the best mix was spotted, each kid's expulsion dropped from about a large share of bites to under a large share during the rest of the probe.

Rubio et al. (2021) reviewed dozens of studies and found that finger prompts and side deposit boost acceptance. Scotchie's data agree: when the team added a light finger touch or moved the spoon to the side, expulsion fell. The two papers line up like puzzle pieces.

McConnell et al. (2020) used the same multielement logic to calm dental tantrums. Both studies show that a five-minute probe can pick the safest antecedent before real treatment starts. The topography differs—spitting vs screaming—but the method is a twin.

Butler et al. (2021) warn that brief assessments can mislead if preferences drift. Scotchie did not track long-term stability, so you may need to re-probe if expulsion creeps back up.

You can steal this probe in your next feeding case. Spend one lunch period rotating bite size, texture, prompt, and placement. Mark the combo that keeps food in the mouth. Start treatment there and you skip weeks of guesswork. No extra gear, no long baseline—just a spoon and a data sheet.