Asking parents/carers of young children with Down syndrome about specific eating behaviours and feeding practices could lead to more effective tailored support for feeding problems

Abstract

Commentary on: Rogers SL, Smith B, Mengoni SE. Relationships between feeding problems, eating behaviours and parental feeding practices in children with Down syndrome: A cross‐sectional study. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2022;35(2):596–606. Commentary: Feeding problems have a significant physical, functional and emotional impact on children with DS and their parents/carers,1 2 and are therefore an important area of study. This paper adds to existing evidence highlighting the greater incidence of feeding difficulties children with DS experience1 6 by offering comparisons to TD children. The study identifies greater food avoidance traits as a risk factor for feeding problems and offers suggestive evidence that for children with DS a shorter duration of receiving breast milk may be indicative of later feeding problems, highlighting the need for further research into this area. The findings act as a reminder to healthcare professionals to explore early eating behaviours and parental feeding practices in detail to identify specific areas for support. There is however a lack of depth to the study implications discussion. Consideration of factors such as feeding skills, the impact of dysphagia, the role of professionals with expertise in feeding/dysphagia management and the impact of children with DS’s communication differences on parental feeding practices could have offered greater clinical utility. The authors acknowledge the limitations of the sample size and large age range reducing generalisability and the cross-sectional nature of their study limiting the ability to address causality. There are few strong clinical implications nonetheless; this paper offers further insights to professionals working with parents/carers striving to meet the eating and drinking needs of children with DS.