Higher seminar about early feeding difficultiesm om tidiga ätsvårigheter

eeding difficulties affect an estimated 6–9% of preschool-aged children in Sweden and can influence growth, well-being, and family stress. Yet, little is known about the long-term developmental trajectories of children with early feeding difficulties or about early predictors of later outcomes. Research has also been hindered by unclear diagnostic criteria and limited validated assessment tools. Two partially overlapping diagnostic frameworks—Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)—are now in use, but their relationship remains insufficiently understood.

In this seminar, doctoral student Helena Johansson (Dept. of Public Health and Caring Sciences – Speech and Language Pathology, main supervisor Martina Hedenius) will present the early stages of her doctoral project, which aims to:

a. Follow up school-aged children who received speech and language pathology services for feeding difficulties at ages 0–3, examining:

• the nature and course of difficulties using the PFD and ARFID frameworks

• the occurrence of language, communication, and other developmental disorders

• early predictors of feeding behavior and overall development

b. validate and establish Swedish norms for the Behavioral Pediatric Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) for children aged 1–7 years.