By Katie Tower, Occupational Therapist at Jen Belanger Nutrition
Do you have a picky eater on your hands? Your kid won’t even try a bite of new foods? Stuck on the same brands…McDonald’s chicken nuggets anyone? It’s nothing we haven’t heard before, and you’re in the right place!
Why is eating so difficult for my child?
Feeding is incredibly complex. It’s a total sensory experience! Just think of a typical meal… it not only involves the food itself, but how your child is feeling that day. Are they able to successfully chew the food, can they sit for a meal, tolerate the texture and smells? As SOS feeding therapy describes, think of feeding as an iceberg. Feeding is just a small part of the whole experience and there’s a whole lot more going on that we can’t always see! I’m going to answer some of your most commonly asked questions about feeding therapy and if it would be a good fit for your child!
What is feeding therapy?
Feeding therapy is a type of intervention which can involve a variety of professionals (occupational therapists, speech therapists, registered dietitians, behavioral specialists, and physicians) to help children improve and get to the underlying causes of feeding issues. We use Kay Toomey’s SOS Approach to Feeding Method which emphasizes a whole child model to address feeding issues and looks at all the factors involved in this process including oral motor skills, sensory and/or behavioral challenges as well as medical and nutritional concerns. Our Registered Dietitian and Occupational Therapist work as a team to look at nutritional concerns as well as sensory processing, oral motor, postural/motor and behavioral challenges associated with feeding.
What does a feeding therapy session look like?
Each child is unique so we tailor each session to the individual child. Feeding is definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. We work directly with the child to explore new foods in a fun, play based manner with a low pressure and individualized approach. We never totally know where a feeding session will lead us but we follow the child’s cues. Our overarching goal is for the child to have positive experiences with food! We also work directly with the family to set realistic goals and brainstorm new strategies to try at home. It’s easy to get stuck in a pattern and routine that is no longer working. Sometimes we all need to “re-vamp” our mealtime routine and approach to food.
We want you to play with your food – the messier the better!
Making long lasting feeding changes is a process. Research shows it can take up to 15 times of trying a new food before you can actually accept and learn to like it. We want to get your child involved in the process! It’s been shown that playing and exploring new food can often help babies and toddlers get more comfortable with eating foods and develop healthy eating habits.
For more information reach out to Jen Belanger Nutrition LLC at 413-486-0351 or [email protected].
