Objective: To determine the relationship between eating behaviors and gastrointestinal symptoms of children with autistic spectrum disorder.
Methodology: This descriptive study was conducted from 20th October 2021 to 15th May 2023 using nonprobability purposes convenient sampling and included 150 parents of autistic spectrum disorder children. A designed questionnaire was utilized. The instrument consisted of four parts. It had question about the parents' demographics (15), question about the demographics of the children (12), question about eating habits (38) and question about gastrointestinal symptoms (14). The descriptive statistical data analysis technique was used and inferential analysis used multiple linear regressions to examine the data.
Results: Children with autism spectrum disorder had issues with their eating patterns, and these behaviors had a highly significant association with gastrointestinal symptoms, as shown by a highly significant p-value of 0.001.
Conclusion: Eating habits and gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly correlated among children with autism spectrum condition.
Key words: Eating behaviors, gastrointestinal symptoms, children, autistic spectrum disorder.
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