Diets of handicapped children: physical, psychological, and socioeconomic correlations.

Diets of patients at the University Affiliated Cincinnati Center for Developmental Disorders were evaluated in order to identify relationships between nutritional deficiencies and selected physical, psychological, and socioeconomic factors. Results showed primary nutritional and feeding problems to be: low ascorbic acid and iron intakes, lack of a daily source of fluorid, protein intake of borderline biological quality, and mechanical and postnatal feeding difficulties. Nutritional and feeding problems were correlated with various hematological, psychological, anatomical, and social factors.