Comparing weight-related behaviors of young children with autism spectrum disorder during summer versus school months: Preliminary evidence

Background: Summer is an emerging area of concern for accelerated weight gain in children. Little is known about weight-related behaviors of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) during summer. Aims: To compare weight-related behaviors of children with ASD during summer versus school months. Methods and procedures: Caregivers of children (mean age 5.7 years, +/- 1.8 years) with ASD participated in a within-person observational study and reported daily estimates of bed/wake times, daily food and beverage consumption, and screen time at home for 14 days during both school and summer months. Outcomes and results: Caregivers reported their child (N = 14; 100 % ASD diagnosis, 71 % boys) engaged in an additional +42 min of daily screen time at home (95 % CI: 22.1, 62.5), an additional +11 min of screen time after 8:00PM (95 %CI: 4.4, 17.1), went to bed similar to 30 min later and woke up similar to 50 min later on summer days compared to school month days. Conclusions and implications: Initial evidence suggests young children with ASD had higher amounts of daily screen time and later bed/wake time during summer compared to school. Further research in large diverse samples is warranted to help inform intervention design and delivery in this population.