A validity study of the Screening Tool of Feeding Problems (STEP)

The Screening Tool of fEeding Problems (STEP) was developed as a means to identify feeding problems presented by persons with an intellectual disability, for diagnosis, treatment and evaluating treatment outcome. Rarely is assessment comprehensive and often problems are not identified until they are severe. Items for the scale were developed to target feeding problems identified in the literature in the areas of risk of aspiration, food selectivity, feeding skills deficits, food refusal and associated behaviour problems, and nutrition related behavior problems. The current study examines the validity of the STEP as a means to identify feeding problems. Convergent validity was demonstrated by comparing STEP items targeting rumination and pica (items 18 and 9, respectively) to DSM-IV diagnoses of these disorders. Implications of the results are discussed.

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