Pediatric Feeding Therapy

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

Scheduled to be released on January 30, 2025.

Childhood feeding problems are one of the most common complaints raised during primary care visits. 

Which is not surprising, given that the prevalence of pediatric feeding disorder is around 1 in 37 children under age 5. Feeding disorders overall  are common in the pediatric population, with a prevalence of 25% of children in the general population and of up to 80% of children with developmental disabilities. 

Unfortunately, many feeding problems are too often normalized, and parents are told to “wait and see” when in reality, feeding problems may be associated with poor sleep quality, toileting problems, increased likelihood of medical conditions or illness—ultimately leading to greater levels of caregiver stress and healthcare costs. 

The article we are looking at today, is a broad scoping review of research on pediatric feeding disorder, which really highlights the broad multidisciplinary interest in this disorder. After we review the article, we will welcome to the podcast, Suzie Driscoll, an occupational therapist who started her own pediatric feeding therapy business, Tiny and Mighty. Suzie and I will discuss this research, and its implications of OT professionals.

Primary Journal Article Explored

• Mapping the gaps: A scoping review of research on pediatric feeding disorder.

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Examining Health Conditions, Impairments, and Quality of Life for Pediatric Feeding Disorders.
• Let’s not wait and see: The substantial risks of pediatric feeding problems.
• Demographic and clinical parameters are comparable across different types of pediatric feeding disorder.

Learning Objectives

• You will recognize occupational therapy assessments you can utilize for pediatric feeding disorder. 
• You will be able to identify occupation-based interventions to utilize with clients with pediatric feeding disorder and their families. 

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (5 minutes)

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (55 minutes)

• How did you become interested in pediatric feeding? 
• What was your journey to starting your own business? 
• What were your impressions of this article? 
• Anecdotally, what are the main reasons/diagnoses that you see prompting people to seek therapy?
• In your evaluation process, which assessments (formal or informal) do you feel are most potent? 
• What does collaborative goal setting look like for you?
• In your treatment process, which interventions do you feel like are most potent? 
• What does family involvement look like for you? 
• What do you feel like a generalist OT brings to pediatric feeding already- and where would you start with further education? 
•  How would you like to see OT in pediatric feeding therapy grow and evolve over the upcoming years? 

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about AI and Clinical Decision Support.  The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. 

Speakers

Suzie Driscoll, MOT, OTR/L

I am a board-certified and licensed Occupational Therapist, specializing in pediatric feeding therapy. I am dedicated to empowering families and little ones to thrive and enjoy mealtimes with confidence. I graduated with a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2016 and am a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

I have experience working in both inpatient and outpatient hospital settings across the lifespan and with various diagnoses. I discovered my passion for helping families and babies with feeding challenges while working at Seattle Children’s Hospital and have devoted the majority of my post-master’s education focusing on evaluating and treating pediatric feeding disorders. I became a mom to a spunky little girl in 2020, and it further strengthened my love for supporting babies with starting solids and inspiring responsive feeding for toddlers.

Tiny and Mighty Therapy was inspired by my own tiny and mighty girl, who had her share of feeding difficulties in infancy. I wanted to be the clinician I needed while navigating that journey as a first-time mom. And thus, Tiny and Mighty Therapy was born!

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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