MEAL TIME DIFFICULTIES
Will my child benefit from feeding therapy?
The more questions you answer ‘yes’ to, the more your child is likely to benefit from feeding therapy.
Was your child unable to:
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transition to purees by 10 months?
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accept any solids by 12 months?
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transition from the bottle/breast to a cup by 16 months?
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wean off baby foods by 16 months?
Have you:
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reported that your infant arches their back and/or cries at most meals?
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felt mealtimes are a struggle, and that there is always a battle between you and your child about food?
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described your child as being “picky” at 2 or more developmental checks?
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noticed that your child is difficult for everyone to feed?
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parents who have a history of disordered eating and have a child who is not meeting weight gain goals? (Please note – parents are not regarded to have caused a feeding difficulty in their child, however, the parent may be more stressed around meals and require more support.)
Does your child:
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experience regular coughing, gagging, or choking during meals?
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have excessive drool?
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overstuff their mouth?
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pocket food in their cheeks instead of swallowing?
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have inefficient chewing or chew very slowly?
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have food falling from their mouth?
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avoid all foods of a particular texture (slimey, crunchy, chewy, wet, etc.) or avoid all foods of a nutritional group (vegetables, meat, fruit, etc.)?
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have ongoing difficulty gaining weight (dropping percentiles on the growth curve) or weight loss?
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have continual problems with vomiting?
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have less than 20 foods that they are able to consistently eat? Particularly if foods are being dropped over time with no new foods replacing those that were dropped.
Has your child had:
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a traumatic choking incident, and subsequently stopped eating certain foods?
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more than one occurrence of nasal reflux (vomiting out of nose)?
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a history of eating and breathing coordination difficulties, with ongoing respiratory issues?
SOS Approach To Feeding is the intervention Early Years OT use when a child has difficulty with meals times.
*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.