WHAT I DO
Feeding-focused Occupational Therapy
I utilize my background in general occupational therapy and a combination of the following protocols in order to create a personalized plan of care for each child and their family that supports needs holistically
Feeding Therapy
I provide feeding therapy services for children with a variety of diagnoses and challenges. I am qualified and experienced in addressing sensory-based feeding difficulty, motor-based feeding difficulty, as well as behavior-based feeding difficulty.
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I firmly believe that food should be fun and mealtimes should be social and enjoyable! I completely reject the practice of forced feeding and approach my sessions with one goal: help your child develop a positive, fun, healthy relationship with food and mealtimes.
Occupational Therapy
I am an NBCOT-certified, licensed occupational therapist with several years of experience in both the clinic and early intervention settings. Without this underlying foundation, I would not be able to treat feeding disorders successfully. I have extensive experience with what is considered "general OT", including: sensory integration therapy, primitive reflex integration, fine motor and gross motor building, handwriting, play skills and social skills.
Sequential Oral System Approach to Feeding
I am trained the Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding created and taught by Dr. Kay Toomey. This protocol allows the child to be "in control" of his interactions with food items and focuses on small, sequential steps for increasing that interaction (e.g. start with touching with fingers, before moving up to mouth). I believe this protocol is successful because children feel as though they are "in the driver's seat" and are then often more comfortable and willing to explore unfamiliar food.
“The SOS Approach to Feeding program was developed by and copyrighted by Dr. Kay Toomey. Please note, all materials, documents, and forms taken from the SOS Approach to Feeding program are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Dr. Kay Toomey. For more information on the SOS Approach to Feeding program, please visit www.sosapproach.com.”
Talk Tools- A Sensory Motor Approach to Feeding
I am also trained in Talk Tools: A Sensory Motor Approach to Feeding by Lori Overland. There is often overlap between sensory-based feeding disorders and oral-motor deficit, so it is important that your child's feeding therapist also has a foundation in oral-motor skill development.
