Development of Nutrition Screening Checklist for Children with Special Needs

Eating is so easy and natural that we sometimes take it for granted. Mealtimes are also times shared with family and friends. However, for children with special needs, the simple act of eating can present daily challenges for both parent and child. Eating may become associated with fear, stress and discomfort. As many as 40 % of children with special needs in the U.S. could be at nutritional risk (0,1). Common nutrition concerns seen in children with special needs1 (CSN) include growth and weight issues, oral feeding difficulties, nutrient deficiencies and accessibility of foods or formula (0, 1,3,4,5 6,7). When these concerns are not addressed, it can compound a child’s disability, decrease quality of life and increase the cost of interventions, other therapies and support. (3,4) The number of CSN in Canada was estimated to be 7.7 % of children aged 0-19 years old in the 1996 Canada Population Health Survey (2). However, not all CSN will require nutrition intervention. Therefore, we recognized that there was a need to develop a nutrition screening tool to identify which CSN in the community would benefit from intervention. Often there is limited accessibility to a dietitian for nutritional assessment or consultation so a self-administered nutrition screening checklist could assist health professionals to determine which children would benefit from nutrition intervention, and us