Pediatric Feeding: Treatment Approach for Multifaceted Feeding Difficulties

Presented by Danielle Carey

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Video Runtime: 53 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 38 Minutes

This course gives you the clinical competence to assess and treat pediatric feeding disorders secondary to structural, sensory-based, and experience-based difficulties. At the completion of this course, you will be competent in assessment and treatment planning for multifaceted feeding problems for infants and beyond.

Learning Objectives
  • Manage infant care treatment via the incorporation of suck training, tension relief, passive exercise, positional changes, and parent education to support improved infant feeding coordination
  • Design a systematic approach to guide treatment decisions surrounding multifaceted treatment and where to start the plan of care
  • Consider the appropriate use of various therapy tools and how to keep their use play-based and fun during treatment
  • Produce fun and interactive sensory-based feeding, structural-based feeding, experience-based feeding, and multifaceted feeding treatment sessions to promote optimal progress

Meet your instructor

Danielle Carey

Danielle Carey has been a practicing speech-language pathologist over the last 12 years. During the early years of her career, Danielle worked in rehabilitation centers and hospitals. Over the last nine years, she has worked within the private practice setting. Danielle has created and launched a myofunctional program. While…

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Chapters & learning objectives

Infant Care

1. Infant Care

This chapter will explore various techniques to support and enhance feeding skills in infants. It will cover suck training to improve feeding efficiency, tension relief methods to ease discomfort and promote relaxation, and passive exercises to support muscle development and coordination. Additionally, the chapter will provide recommendations for implementing these strategies effectively to address common feeding challenges and optimize infant care.

Priority of Treatment

2. Priority of Treatment

This chapter will discuss how to effectively address pediatric feeding difficulties. It will outline strategies for prioritizing treatment based on the child’s specific needs, whether they involve sensory processing issues, feeding challenges, or experience-based difficulties. The chapter will provide practical steps for initiating intervention and developing a focused plan to address the most pressing concerns first, ensuring a structured and effective approach to improving feeding outcomes.

Feeding Tools Review

3. Feeding Tools Review

This chapter will provide an in-depth examination of various tools used to support and assess feeding practices in pediatric care. It will cover the use of tools such as z-vibes and chew tubes for oral motor stimulation, jaw grading sticks and cheek retractors for structural assessments, and digital calipers and lip meters for precise measurements of oral function. Additionally, the chapter will review the use of pulse oximeters to monitor oxygen levels during feeding, offering insights into how these tools can enhance assessment and intervention strategies.

Play-Based Feeding/Treatment Ideas

4. Play-Based Feeding/Treatment Ideas

This chapter will cover various approaches to integrating play into feeding therapy. It will detail how play can be incorporated into sensory-feeding sessions to enhance sensory integration and how it can be used in structural-feeding sessions to improve oral motor skills. It will also describe how to address experience-based feeding difficulties through engaging and motivating play activities. It will also outline what a multifaceted feeding approach looks like, combining sensory, structural, and experiential elements to create a comprehensive treatment plan.