Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) affects 1 in 23 children, making it more prevalent than Autism. However, early identification and coordinated care remain inconsistent across clinical & educational settings. This presentation explores current best practices in the evaluation and treatment of PFD, through the use of complex case studies. Many SLPs have only worked and trained within the silo of their own discipline. As a result, many SLPs do not understand how a multidisciplinary team is essential for the comprehensive evaluation and effective treatment of PFD. Heavily marketed feeding methodologies preach that their treatment is the only training needed for all children with PFD. These programs rely on protocols that encourage simplistic, step-by-step generic processes that do not take into consideration the presenting needs of the child being treated. This furthers confusion regarding what clinicians really need to be effective PFD providers, especially for newer clinicians. The need for a deep understanding of physiology, developmental norms, and the interaction between the swallowing mechanism and the rest of the GI tract, along with how trauma and overall health (including cardiac and pulmonary) impact eating ability, efficiency, and safety is rarely talked about, nor clinical thinking skills focused on. Only those PFD professionals who are fortunate enough to work within Children's Hospitals or multidisciplinary settings are exposed to and build an understanding of the complex and interconnected nature of PFDs. My purpose in developing this presentation has been to provide a review of oral motor and other developmental norms, to provide the attendee with a foundation to use later in the presentation in the hands-on, interactive evaluation of complex case studies. The focus of the case studies is to help clinicians build and apply clinical thinking skills to real cases.

Full Webinar Details