| TITLE |
SYNOPSIS |
Learning to Chew |
Learning to Chew discusses the developmental progressions that most babies experience as they move from eating smooth pureed foods to table foods that require chewing. Early skills in mouthing of toys and successful experiences with lumpy textured foods create a foundation for comfortableand skillfl chewing. A set of Guidelines is provided for parents and therapists. |
Mealtime Skills: Increasing Gastrointestional Comfort |
Mealtime Skills: Increasing Gastrointestinal Comfort presents a protocol for understanding the role played by gastrointestinal problems in feeding and mealtime programs for children who receive their nourishment through a feeding tube. Specific guidelines are included to increase the child's gastrointestinal comfort during the meal. Although geared toward the child who is tube-fed, most of the concepts and suggestions are applicable to children who eat by mouth. |
Stress and Mealtimes |
Stress and Mealtimes addresses the role that physical, mental and emotional stress play during mealtimes for both children and their parents. Recognizing stressful situations and incorporating approaches that reduce stress and support nourishing mealtimes enhance learning for everyone. |
Choosing Feeding
Equipment |
Choosing Feeding Equipment presents guidelines for selecting equipment for feeding programs. Equipment can be a helpful partner in enabling the child to use the best eating patterns possible. Both major and subtle differences are found in equipment in each category. Variations in shape or size can make a major difference for a given child. This makes it impossible to list a specific piece or brand of equipment that will be most effective for your child. This paper provides a list of the general characteristics of nipples, bottles, cups, straws, spoons and oral-facial stimulation equipment that we've found helpful. |
Is it Age-Appropriate? |
Is It Age-Appropriate looks very specifically at a very common question and challenge that comes up for parents and therapists who are trying to balance their child's needs with products that are on the market. Because of the delayed development of many feeding skills as well as specific sensory and motor needs, our kids may need or be drawn toward equipment that was designed for infants and younger children. How do we balance their developmental needs with the question of age-appropriateness? This paper explores the many sides of this question. It looks at various products and child needs in relationship to size, skills, social and emotional, and construction characteristics. |
Homemade Blended Formulas: A Nutritional Option for Tube-Fed Children |
Homemade Blended Formulas: A Nutritional Option for Tube-Fed Children discusses the option of providing nutritious meals for tube-fed children through the creation of homemade blended formulas. An historical overview of tube feeding formulas is included along with a discussion of the importance of a team approach to supporting parents who wish to explore this nutritional option for their children. The article is adapted from the newly published Homemade Blended Formula Handbook. |
The Happiness Option at Mealtimes |
The Happiness Option at Mealtimes introduces the concept that our beliefs and attitudes play a central role in how children participate and learn at mealtimes. Happiness is the most important factor at mealtimes and in therapy programs to help children develop feeding skills. Unhappiness gets in the way of helping children move toward their most comfortable and skillful relationship with food and liquid. Based on the concepts of Barry Neil Kaufman in his book Happiness is a Choice, this paper presents Kaufman’s 6 “Shortcuts to Happiness” within the context of mealtimes. |
Becoming a Mealtime Partner |
Becoming a Mealtime Partner emphasizes the concept that parents and professionals can develop or redevelop mealtime partnership skills with the infants and children in their lives. Becoming a more skilled Mealtime Partner involves conceptualizing the challenges of feeding and nourishing children in a different way. Work to improve swallowing, oral-motor skills, and sensory comfort is part of the journey in which children learn to enjoy and participate fully in the mealtimes they share with others. |
Feeding Behaviors – The Tip of the Iceberg |
Feeding Behaviors – The Tip of the Iceberg explores the concept that feeding behaviors are strategies that children and adults select to take care of themselves. When a child is uncomfortable due to gastrointestinal, sensory, swallowing or other physical difficullties, the strategy of limiting food intake may be chosen. The importance of identifying and treating the underlying reasons that lie beneath the "tip of the iceberg" of feeding behaviors is emphasized. |
| Finding an Appropriate Feeding Program for Children with Feeding Difficulties |
Finding an Appropriate Feeding Program helps parents identify individual strengths and needs that can influence the type of feeding programs that are appropriate for both their child and family. The paper discusses ways of preparing for intervention services, documenting what you know about yourself and your child, identifying appropriate feeding resources, and preparing for the initial meetings with service providers. A series of questions is provided that will help parents identify and understand the resources and approaches used by individual therapists and feedng teams. From this information, parents are able to make a more informed decision about feeding programs that are available. |
| Food
Progressions for Biting and Chewing |
Food Progressions for Biting and Chewing describes
how learning to bite and chew foods efficiently
is influenced by the sensory properties of the
food and its placement in the mouth. Selecting
food can be a challenging task for the parent or
therapist because each food has multiple sensory
features. Each food has at least 8 sensory
features that simultaneously determine the degree
of ease or difficulty for biting and chewing.
These include resistance, sensory input, size,
shape, texture scatter, consistency, placement,
and need for transfer during chewing. The
combination of these features determines the
overall sensorimotor skills required in biting
and chewing. These, in turn, interact with the
specific skills and needs of the individual
child. |
| Gastrointestinal Health and the Child with Feeding Problems – Part 1: The Issues |
Gastrointestinal Health and the Child with Feeding Problems Part 1: The Issues discusses the impact of gastrointestinal discomfort on the development of feeding skills and the child's desire to eat. The paper explores the role played by tube feedings, gastroesophageal reflux, poor digestion, lack of appetite and antibiotics. |
| Gastrointestinal Health and the Child with Feeding Problems – Part 2: Therapy Alternatives |
Gastrointestinal Health and the Child with Feeding Problems Part 2: Therapy Alternatives explores strategies for improving gastrointestinal health and function that can be incorporated into feeding programs. The paper presents ideas for increasing dietary diversity, building gastrointestinal comfort, reducing food allergies and sensitivities, and developing the child's internal regulation of eating. |
Children with Feeding Tubes: Part 1-The Issues
|
Children with Feeding Tubes: Part 1-The Issues describes the group of children whose feeding skills do not support full oral feeding. The role of feeding tubes in the well-being of these children is discussed. Strategies to support the child's ability and desire to eat by mouth are discussed. |
| Children with
Feeding Tubes: Part 2- Treatment Programs |
Children with Feeding Tubes: Part
2–Treatment Programs continues the
online discussion of children who receive tube
feedings by describing a comprehensive oral-motor
treatment program and its components. A focus is
placed on the foundation skills that children
need to begin oral feeding. |
Children with
Feeding Tubes: Part 3- Making the Transition to
Oral Feeding |
Children with Feeding Tubes: Part
3–Making the Transition to Oral Feeding discusses
criteria and progressions for helping children
make the transition to partial or full oral
feeding. Specific readiness guidelines are
provided. |
| Expanding
Children's Diets |
Expanding Children's Diets describes
an approach and series of practical ideas for
helping children with sensory-based feeding
problems increase the types of food and liquid
they are willing to eat. |
Mouth Stuffing |
Mouth Stuffing discusses
a common feeding characteristic of children with
mild and moderate sensorimotor difficulties.
Treatment strategies are suggested for children
with poor sensory awareness and poor chewing
movements. |
Issues in the
Anatomy and Physiology of Swallowing |
Issues in the
Anatomy and Physiology of Swallowing: Impact on
Assessment and Treatment of Children with
Dysphagia discusses the interplay between the
anatomy and physiology of the swallowing
mechanism in infants and children. Changes in
structure during infancy influence the child's
ability to swallow and learn to eat safely. |
When a Child
Aspirates |
When a Child
Aspirates provides a detailed overview of
swallowing difficulties in children, and
discusses the significance of aspiration in
assessment and treatment programs. Practical
suggestions are given to prepare a child for a
swallowing study and to introduce small amounts
of food and liquid safely. |
Feeding and Speech
Relationships
|
Feeding and
Speech Relationships looks at how feeding
skills support the development of oral motor
skills for speech. |
Formula Rotation
for Children Who Receive Tube Feedings |
Formula Rotation
for Children Who Receive Tube Feedings
presents a rationale for using formula rotation
to increase dietary diversity and prevent the
development of food sensitivities and allergies
in children who typically receive the nutrients
in a single formula. Implications for the
transition to oral feeding are discussed. |
Why Evaluate and
Treat Mild Feeding Delays and Limitations?
|
Why Evaluate and
Treat Mild Feeding Delays and Limitations?
discusses the impact of mild feeding problems on
the child's speech and social development.
Specific suggestions are given for selecting food
for snack time at home and in the classroom. |
Feeding and
Pre-Speech Characteristics - Children with Mild
Sensorimotor Impairment
|
Feeding and
Pre-Speech Characteristics - Children with Mild
Sensorimotor Impairment describes issues
which influence a child's development of
efficient feeding and early speech patterns. An
emphasis is placed on children with mild and
minimal sensorimotor involvement. |
Refusal of First
Foods |
Refusal of First
Foods offers a perspective on infants with no
prior feeding difficulties who gag and refuse
smooth solid foods. |
Enhancing Infant
Readiness |
Guidelines for
Success: Enhancing Infant Readiness. . . introduces
the concept that infants let us know they are
ready to move on to soft solid foods through a
series of Readiness Cues. Practical suggestions
are provided to increase the ease and pleasure of
this learning period. |
Mouth Toys Open the
Sensory Doorway
|
Mouth toys provide
optimum experience for the development of oral
sensory awareness and discrimination and oral
movement for feeding and speech development. |
