Using Shaping to Increase Foods Consumed by Children with Autism.

Hodges et al. (2017) tested a shaping plan for kids with autism who ate only a few foods. They used tiny steps and praise to move from touching a new food to swallowing it. Each child had four target foods and moved up a ladder of steps until every food was eaten.

Every child ended up eating all four foods they had never touched before. The steps stayed easy so no one gagged or cried. Parents kept the foods on the menu after the study ended.

Patton et al. (2020) ran a similar plan but swapped between large and small food sets. They found big sets can build a wide menu, yet small sets help when a child stalls at just smelling the food. Abby’s fixed four-food set sits in the middle and still worked.

Sisson et al. (1993) did parent-run bite steps twenty-four years earlier. Their kids also doubled accepted foods, showing the idea holds across decades.

Davis et al. (2023) moved the same logic into a classroom. They gave a bite of liked food right after a new bite and saw the same jump in eating without escape extinction. Abby’s home data and Davis’s school data match up well.

You can copy Abby’s four-food ladder tomorrow. Pick four safe new foods, break each into five tiny steps, and praise every success. If a child sticks at sniffing, drop to one food until a bite is swallowed, then add the rest back. No need for escape extinction, so meals stay calm.