St. John receives $49,853 grant for caregiver training program

Assistant Professor Brittany St. John, PhD, MPH, OTR/L, has received a grant for $49,853 for the project First Bite: A pilot caregiver training and consultation program to address critical feeding challenges for autistic children and reduce waitlist length. 

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative awarded the funding through a Tier 2 Pilot Grant program. This program encourages new interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators for projects that address critical components of grand challenges the UW seeks to address in population health.

First Bite is a 10-week program that includes eight group caregiver education sessions and four individual consultation sessions with a program therapist. This project will pilot First Bite at the UW Autism Center to evaluate its effectiveness in helping families meet child-feeding goals and reduce the need for direct feeding services. 

Autistic children experience high rates of feeding challenges that negatively impact their health, development, nutritional status, and family well-being. First Bite provides accessible caregiver education to reduce the need for individualized services and shorten support waiting times. The caregiver-focused interventions are delivered virtually to families while children are on the waitlist for feeding services. 

Through this project, St. John hopes to provide proof-of-concept data, including feasibility, effectiveness, and resource use measures.