Pediatric Feeding Therapy

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.

1. You will recognize occupational therapy assessments you can utilize for pediatric feeding disorder.

2. You will be able to identify occupation-based interventions to utilize with clients with pediatric feeding disorder and their families.

• Intro

• Breakdown and analysis of journal article

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs

  1. How did you become interested in pediatric feeding?

  2. What was your journey to starting your own business?

  3. What were your impressions of this article?

  4. Anecdotally, what are the main reasons/diagnoses that you see prompting people to seek therapy?

  5. In your evaluation process, which assessments (formal or informal) do you feel are most potent?

  6. What does collaborative goal setting look like for you?

  7. In your treatment process, which interventions do you feel like are most potent?

  8. What does family involvement look like for you?

  9. What do you feel like a generalist OT brings to pediatric feeding already- and where would you start with further education?

  10. How would you like to see OT in pediatric feeding therapy grow and evolve over the upcoming years?

Primary

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

Additional

• 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

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.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Suzie Driscoll owns Tiny and Mighty Therapy, a pediatric feeding therapy practice.