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Rumination Disorder

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

  • 44 Accesses

Synonyms

Merycism; Rumination

Short Description or Definition

Rumination refers to the habit of regurgitating food and chewing it again. While occasionally seen in infants who are otherwise developing normally, it is more frequently seen in children with developmental delays (sometimes with autism). It can also be seen in older individuals without developmental delays. Rarely, it is seen in otherwise typically developing individuals as an isolated phenomenon.

Typically food is rechewed and swallowed, but sometimes is spit out. Rumination may begin immediately after eating/feeding or for up to an hour or so thereafter. Rumination disorder is diagnosed if the problem is persistent and a focus of treatment.

Ruminative behavior can lead to various difficulties including dental problems, delays in growth, and food aspiration (inhalation of food into the lungs). Sometimes, gastroesophageal reflux contributes to the problem. Particularly, if medical complications are present, interventions...

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References and Reading

  • Birmingham, C. L., & Firoz, T. (2006). Rumination in eating disorders: Literature review. Eating and Weight Disorders: EWD, 11(3), e85–e89.

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  • Nicholls, D., & Bryant-Waugh, R. (2009). Eating disorders of infancy and childhood: Definition, symptomatology, epidemiology, and comorbidity. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 18(1), 17–30.

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  • Rhine, D., & Tarbox, J. (2009). Chewing gum as a treatment for rumination in a child with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42(2), 381–385.

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  • Volkmar, F., & Wiesner, L. (2009). A practical guide to autism. Hoboken: Wiley.

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  • Woolston, J. L., & Hasbani, S. M. (2005). Eating and growth disorders in infants and children. In A. Martin & F. Volkmar (Eds.), Lewis’s child and adolescent psychiatry: A comprehensive textbook (4th ed., pp. 583–592). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Study Center, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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  1. Fred R. Volkmar
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Correspondence to Fred R. Volkmar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Volkmar, F.R. (2018). Rumination Disorder. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102242-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102242-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

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