From Someone Who May Cause Trouble to Someone You Can Play With: Stakeholders' Perspectives on Preschool Program Quality for Autistic Children

In Sweden, young autistic children typically attend community-based preschool programs, which may not be adapted to their needs. In the current study, stakeholders to autistic children receiving Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention were interviewed following a quasi-randomized study (#NCT03634761) aimed at improving the preschool program quality using the Swedish version of the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale (APERS). Stakeholders provided their perceptions and experiences concerning key factors for high quality preschool programs as well as well as their experiences of the abovementioned APERS study. Applying thematic analysis, stakeholder groups differed in what they emphasized, but all highlighted staff’s competence, children’s inclusion and participation, collaboration, and the learning environment as key program areas that had been positively influenced by the APERS-based intervention.

Are there Picky Preschool Eaters in Japan?

Background: Picky eating or refusing certain foods (or food groups) and/or having strong likes and dislikes around food is common among preschool children in the United States. Japanese children under 5 years of age may have minimal amounts of picky eating due to the Japanese preschool programs that emphasize shared eating.Methods: In this study, we visited 8 hoikuen and yochiens (kindergardens) in Tokyo and Chiba prefectures. Interviews were conducted with managers, teachers and dietitians and observations were made of meal and snack times. Results: Japanese preschool/nursery meal times are structured and follow a specific format of thanks, group seating and multiple plates/bowls of food, none of which are finger foods. Conclusion: We conclude that the frequency of picky eating in the United States may be a culture bound syndrome, or a behavior/syndrome specific to American and Western cultural norms.