Interventions for Increasing Acceptance of New Foods Among Children and Adults with Developmental Disorders: A Systematic Review

Chawner and colleagues pulled every feeding study they could find on kids and adults with developmental disorders. They kept 36 papers that used learning-based tricks like escape extinction, tiny taste steps, and parent coaching. The team simply counted how many studies got kids to accept new foods.

Thirty-four of the 36 studies won. Most mixed two or three tools: stay-at-the-table rules, bite-by-bite rewards, and calm repeated tastes. The review did not give effect sizes, but the win rate looked strong across ages and diagnoses.

Scott et al. (2024) later crunched 266 cases and gave numbers to what Chawner found: escape plus non-escape extinction beats either one alone. Volkert et al. (2025) then showed the same combo keeps 80 % of tube-fed kids eating by mouth six years later. Taylor (2023) stretched the idea to pills and liquids—kids met every med goal in one home session. Rubio et al. (2020) added a quick finger prompt when plain escape extinction stalled. Together these papers turn Chawner’s ‘it works’ into ‘here’s exactly how, how big, and how long.’

You no longer have to guess which feeding parts to use. Start with escape extinction plus small reinforcers. If bites stay low, add a high-p sequence or finger prompt. Track data—Scott’s meta gives you benchmark sizes. Tell parents the gains can last years, not weeks, so they stay in the game.