Eating is central to development in infants and children. While feeding and swallowing challenges are estimated to affect up to 80% of children with intellectual and developmental delays, little is known about sensory properties of foods that are considered by practitioners to be appropriate for them. This study identified sensory properties of practitioner-suggested commercial food products for children with intellectual and developmental delays. A survey was fielded in the United States ( n = 182) and Australia ( n = 63) of practitioners (speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, dietitians, etc.) experienced working with children (aged 0–17) with intellectual and developmental delays. Respondents indicated food products they suggested for children with intellectual and developmental delays. The 14 most highly-cited products from each country were profiled by descriptive analysis panel ( n = 10) for their sensory properties. Water solubility/absorption indices, dimensions, density, and international dysphagia diet standardization initiative were measured. Factor analysis determined sensory attributes that differentiated products within the set of products suggested from each country. Practitioners from both countries suggested foods with low dense (USA F1 factor loading value = 0.845; AUS = 0.803) and gummy (USA = 0.840; AUS = 0.858) textures, and moderate-high grainy (USA = 0.624; AUS = 0.724) texture. Attributes that best described differences among products suggested by USA practitioners included crispy , dissolvable , and toothpack textures and honey/vanilla/caramelized flavor/aroma. However, for Australian-suggested products, flavor/aroma (grainy, nutty ) contributed more strongly to product differentiation than texture. Differences in attributes suggested by practitioners within each country imply variations in approaches/training in addressing feeding difficulties. These properties can be investigated in future research for acceptance to develop products/feeding plans. • Determined practitioner-suggested foods for children with feeding difficulties. • Profiled sensory properties of US/AUS foods for children with feeding difficulties. • US products were crispy, dissolvable, toothpack, and honey/vanilla/caramelized. • AUS products were grainy and nutty flavored. • Late-career practitioners more likely to suggest commercial foods than early-career.
Potter et al. (Fri,) studied this question.