fbpx

Tag: problem feeder

Virtual Feeding Therapy

Virtual Feeding Therapy

Get Started From the Comfort of Your Own Home

Connect with Us Here

Benefits of Virtual Feeding Therapy

  • Therapy in natural (home) environment
  • Increased opportunity for family participation (siblings, parents, grandparents, caregivers)
  • Sessions can be held during family mealtimes to help with the successful implementation of treatment strategies
  • Access to food at home for preferred and non-preferred food
  • Less travel and time
  • Both direct therapy and parent coaching for carryover
  • Education on seating and environmental modifications to assist with mealtime success
  • Education on preparatory postural control and stability exercises
  • Opportunity to bake and prepare food in home environment

Cooking

breastfeeding

Breast & Bottle Feeding

Infant bottle and breastfeeding

One-on-one virtual breast and bottle feeding lactation support services from the comfort of your own home.

  • Baby’s success on the breast/bottle
  • Mom’s health and comfort
  • Family support for mom & baby
  • Preparing for and maximizing pumping
  • Reflux, spit-up, vomiting support 
  • Maximizing position and latch
  • Finding the right bottle
  • Tummy troubles and gas

baby food

Table Food Transitions

Transition to Table Foods

Transition to table foods can be tricky.  Whether you are starting purees, baby led weaning, or a combination of the two, we are here to support you and your baby.  

  • Transition to table food
  • Learn to drink from straw & open cups
  • Learning to chew & swallow safely
  • Decrease gagging
  • Pacifier elimination
  • Navigate food intolerances, sensitivities & allergies

Feeding Therapy

Kids & Teens

Toddlers to Teens

Together, you and your BDI therapists will create goals functional to your family by incorporating food you have in your home or food your family eats in the community.

  • Teach your child to tolerate, interact with, and eat foods of varying textures and consistences from the comfort of their own home.   
  • Increase oral motor strength and coordination
  • Improve safe swallowing
  • Decrease length of meals
  • Eating food at restaurants
  • Address lunch and snack time challenges at school
  • Meals with friends
  • Utilize feeding therapy techniques such as OMT, Food Chaining, SOS, AEIOU, & Beckman Oral Motor Approach to help your child eat the least restrictive diet!

Who provides treatment for my child?

telehealth

Speech Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists at BDI Playhouse are licensed and trained to:

  • turn mealtime into positive experiences
  • increase oral motor strength and coordination
  • teach your child to tolerate, interact with, or eat foods of varying textures and consistencies
  • address cup, straw, and bottle drinking
  • intake enough calories a day for growth and nutrition
  • utilize specialized techniques such as Beckman Oral Motor Approach, OMT, Food Chaining & Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach
  • target effective use of utensils
  • coach and provide resources to families so they can help your child overcome these mealtime obstacles

Why should my child get feeding therapy?

Research has shown that difficulties with eating and poor nutrition can cause:

  • stunted growth correlated with poor academic performance and lowered mental capacity
  • emotional and psychological development issues
  • a decrease in a child’s activity level, social interactions, and curiosity

telehealth

What does an evaluation look like?

baby eating

The evaluating clinician will discuss with you any concerns you may have for your child, pertinent medical history, and the reason why your child was referred for their evaluation. The rest of the evaluation depends greatly on your child’s age and specific needs. The clinician will assess your child’s current feeding skill level and address any areas of difficulty during this evaluation.

If feeding therapy is recommended, individual therapy sessions may occur on a consultative basis or on a weekly basis.  You and the evaluating therapist will decide on goals and location (clinic or virtual) of services.

Find Answers & Get Started

Still not sure? Learn more about what to expect at a screening here.

Continue reading

Virtual

Virtual Therapy for Children

Get Started

Using a virtual platform to reach families near and far.  Our pediatric therapists are excellent at keeping children engaged and entertained while working toward their goals We work closely with parents, caregivers and other team members—to set the child up for success at home, school, and in their community.

  • Virtual Visits

    A virtual visit is available to all or PT, OT, and ST kiddos.  Virtual visits allow your child to continue services if scheduling, weather and/or health conflict occurs.  Virtual visits are intended for our “clinic” kiddos and can be set up as one time or as needed.  The session can be set up.  It opens longer communication between caregiver and treating therapist (child does not need to be at the screen the entire meeting) as well as allows Therapist to observe child in their home environment.  Together with your clinician, you can adjust clinic and home education plan to more closely reflect your child’s life at home.

  • Developmental Screening (OT, PT, Speech)

    A virtual developmental screening offers an opportunity for parents to ask questions and get answers from a licensed pediatric Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, or Speech Language Pathologist. If we don’t have the answers, we can offer direction and help you find the answers from reputable professionals that we trust.

  • Speech and Language Therapy

    Telehealth Speech & Language Therapy is a convenient and effective treatment solution for common speech and language disorders in toddlers, children, teens, and young adults. Our SLPs provides professional treatment and support for you and your child!

  • Lactation Counseling & Infant Feeding Therapy

    One-on-one in-person and virtual breast and bottle feeding lactation  support services. 

  • Oral Motor & Feeding Therapy

    There is nothing more productive than feeding therapy at home in your child’s own kitchen with food and eating utensils at your fingertips!  Children are more comfortable and there is no need to bridge the gap from the clinic to your home.  

  • Teacher, Parent & Child Classes

    BDI Playhouse therapists provide virtual presentations for preschool teachers and parents who are invested in expanding their knowledge about supporting and accommodating their children.

Cooking

Why You’ll Love Virtual Visits

  • Parent Education

    Use of telehealth allows for parents to be more candid with their descriptions of challenges throughout their day. Telehealth provides your therapist a real-life image of what a day can look like for your child. We also have increased time and opportunity to see and hear your specific questions and needs. Then we’ll help you apply strategies via live video to the location where you are noticing a challenge!

  • Equipment

    Telehealth allows the therapist to see the environment in which your child spends most of their time. A peek at the surroundings through intervention via telehealth gives the therapist (and you as the parent!) more feasible and realistic strategies for therapy carry-over at home. You don’t need fancy swings and expensive games to progress development. We’ll help you find items already in your home that work just as well!

  • Home Modifications

    When a therapist is able to see your child interacting with their favorite toys, playing in their favorite rooms, or going through their routine at home, we get a better understanding of what adjustments to the environment can be made to improve performance within each area.For example, your therapist might suggest moving a distracting item to the other side of the room, adding a step below your child’s feet at the table, or modifying the amount of light/sound in a room during specific tasks to increase success and independence within the home!

  • Home Exercise Programming

    As a therapist, it is our job to give you ideas of how to “practice” skills at home, but we can much more accurately do this part of our job when we see the child’s home and abilities within the home. Giving your therapist a snapshot of your day via technology allows us to assign you more feasible activities to do within your existing home program.

  • Get Up & Move

    Kids are not always great at occupying their own time. Therapy provided via telehealth can provide an opportunity for your child to get up and move within the home, as directed by their therapist. On slow or inactive days, a visit from your therapist via your screen may be the perfect way to stay active, occupied, and healthy!

  • Routine Management

    Technology advancements now allow for your therapist to walk through a routine you and your child go through each day (getting dressed, packing up and going to school, teeth brushing, mealtime, etc.). With your therapist inside your screen, we can provide information/tips for how to more easily manage the routines that are causing you trouble, without getting in your way!

  • OT, PT, and Speech Therapy From The Comforts of Home

    With telehealth intervention, your therapist can provide intervention without the stress of having to pack up the kids, drive to the clinic, unload the family, send off your kiddo and figure out how to entertain your other children for the hour. What a relief! You can get your child much-needed intervention without leaving your couch! How convenient is that?!

  • Virtual Speech and Language Therapy

    • Apraxia
    • Articulation
    • Auditory Processing
    • Executive Functioning
    • Expressive and/or Receptive Language
    • Phonological Disorder
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Social Language
    • Stuttering and Fluency issues

  • Birth – 3

    • Parent coaching during playtime.  Small changes a parent can incorporate into their every day routine to help their infant and toddler develop speech and language skills
  • 3 years + older

    • Direct intervention with parent/caregiver assistance dependent on child’s independence 
  • A comprehensive list of areas addressed in virtual speech therapy

boy therapy
Virtual Speech
breastfeeding

  • Virtual Lactation Counseling

    • Meet with our Certified Lactation Counselor on YOUR time!
    • Mom’s health and comfort
    • Baby’s success on the breast/bottle
    • Family support for mom & baby
    • Preparing for and maximizing pumping
    • Reflux, Spit-up, Vomiting Support
    • Finding the perfect position and latch

Get Lactation Support

  • Virtual Feeding Therapy

    • Turn mealtime into positive experiences
    • Increase oral motor strength and coordination
    • Teach your child to tolerate, interact with, or eat foods of varying textures and consistencies
    • Address cup, straw, and bottle drinking
    • Utilize specialized techniques such as Beckman Oral Motor Approach, Food Chaining, Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach, & OMT
    • Coach and provide resources to families so they can help your child overcome these mealtime obstacles
    • Use family participation during session
    • Work in your child’s natural environment
    • Utilize food from your kitchen

Virtual Feeding Therapy

telehealth
baby

  • Virtual Developmental Screening

    • Gross Motor Movement (Walking, Crawling, Balance, Leg and trunk strength)
    • Fine Motor Abilities
    • Communication
    • Social Emotional
    • How your child plays and moves
    • Visual Tracking
    • Hand/Eye Coordination
    • Sensory System
    • Feeding Development

Get Started

Class

Teacher/Caregiver Presentations

Get Started

Continue reading

Middle School Picky Eater

Middle School Picky Eater

Are you a middle school parent on the fence about whether or not to try feeding therapy for your picky eater?  At BDI Playhouse, we work with middle schoolers both in the clinic or from the comfort of your own home.  We help kiddos with a variety of feeding needs such as increasing their caloric or nutritive intake without the need to supplement all the way to eating chicken at your neighborhood BBQ or pizza with their friends after a sports activity and anything in between.    

The best part about doing feeding therapy with older kiddos, in our opinion, is that they can tell us what they are feeling and thinking when it comes to food and they can be active participants in setting (and achieving) their own goals.  

Here are a few thoughts from a middle schooler in feeding therapy:

What’s the best part of doing feeding therapy?

I get to try foods that I haven’t tried before and that I am interested in trying.  I like doing it at food therapy because more than one person gets to see my reaction and I get to talk and chat!  

What’s the best part of doing food therapy online?

You can do food therapy and not worry about the virus.  Whenever I am at home, I don’t have to wait until my parents drive me home, I get to do whatever I want as soon as the session is done.

What would you tell a kiddo your age if they were on the fence about trying feeding therapy?  

The more therapy that you do the more excited you will get to try new foods.  

What’s your favorite thing you’ve done in feeding therapy?

I got to try a food from a show (dalgona cookies from Squid Games).  We also get to do “challenges” where we pick a food and try different flavors of it!  We had a candy night and tried all different candies.  We’ve done a poptart night and tried 8 different flavors of pop tarts.  We make food together.

Still on the fence of whether it would be a good fit for your kiddo?  Schedule a free screening with one of our feeding therapists to learn more about how we can help your middle school kiddo learn to love trying new foods!

TURKEY TIME TROUBLES?

Turkey Time (as referred to by many of our kiddos) is just around the corner and it is either met with happy or anxious anticipation by children and adults!  A family member announces every Thanksgiving that this is her least favorite holiday because of how overwhelmed she feels with all the food options.  She says the anxiety starts weeks before the big day.  She has the ability to identify, process and express her anxiety related around a holiday.  Imagine, now, a child with the same feelings.  What might his or her anxiety look like?

Anxiety signs in kids:

  • Crying
  • Fleeing the table
  • Poor Sleep
  • Upset/outbursts more frequently or higher intensity than is typical
  • Irritability
  • Grimacing
  • Sweating
  • Yelling
  • Wide eyes
  • Gagging or vomiting
  • Decreased appetite
  • Tense or jittery body
  • Frequent urination

So, what can you do to help make this time less anxious for your child?

How you can help:

  • Take the pressure off! No need to focus on or force the idea of sitting down for a large meal with relatives!  Keep it casual for your kid
  • Validate feelings of discomfort around the holiday
  • Brainstorm food avoidance strategies for use at the Thanksgiving table with your child
  • Interact with Thanksgiving foods without eating them
  • Talk about it- set expectations and boundaries for the holiday festivities
  • Take breaks from the commotion 
  • Turn the focus- make the focus of the holiday less about the food and more about family, crafting/decorations, gratitude, whatever is important to your family!
  • Engage in calming strategies throughout the month.  Examples of calming strategies include heavy work, deep pressure, auditory supports, movement strategies, deep breathing/relaxation strategies, tactile bins, lighting adjustments, and visual toys.  These strategies can be used around meal time and outside of meal time.

Turkey time can be a successful holiday for your entire family, especially if you identify and prepare for the day ahead of time!  If you’d like additional resources, please set up a free screening with one of our occupational therapists at BDI playhouse!

Written by Maggie Lord MS, OTR/L, and Jessica Keenan, MA, CCC-SLP/L, CLC

Feeding Therapy

Feeding Therapy

Clinic or Virtual Feeding Sessions Available

to learn more about our virtual feeding therapy visit our website here

Find Answers & Get Started

Picky Eaters and Problem Feeders

Your child might be a picky eater or problem feeder if your child:

Picky Eating

  • eats less than thirty foods
  • refuses foods of certain textures, temperatures, or colors
  • excessive crying or tantrums at mealtime
  • declines an entire category of food (i.e. veggies)
  • eats the same food over and over
  • becomes distraught when new foods are on the plate
  • has difficulty nursing or bottle feeding or have a history of early feeding difficulties
  • struggles to maintain a healthy weight
  • fills up on junk food
  • gags, coughs, or vomits during meals

Infant Trouble

Infant Bottle & Breastfeeding

One-on-one virtual breast and bottle feeding lactation support services from the comfort of your own home.

  • Baby’s success on the breast/bottle
  • Mom’s health and comfort
  • Family support for mom & baby
  • Preparing for and maximizing pumping
  • Reflux, spit-up, vomiting support 
  • Maximizing position and latch
  • Finding the right bottle
  • Tummy troubles and gas

baby food

Transition to Table Foods

Transition to table foods can be tricky.  Whether you are starting purees, baby led weaning, or a combination of the two, we are here to support you and your baby.  

  • Transition to table food
  • Learn to drink from straw & open cups
  • Learning to chew & swallow safely
  • Decrease gagging
  • Pacifier elimination
  • Navigate food intolerances, sensitivities & allergies

Feeding Therapy

Toddlers to Teens

Together, you and your BDI therapists will create goals functional to your family by incorporating food you have in your home or food your family eats in the community.

  • Teach your child to tolerate, interact with, and eat foods of varying textures and consistences from the comfort of their own home.   
  • Increase oral motor strength and coordination
  • Improve safe swallowing
  • Decrease length of meals
  • Eating food at restaurants
  • Address lunch and snack time challenges at school
  • Meals with friends
  • Utilize feeding therapy techniques such as OMT, Food Chaining, SOS, AEIOU, & Beckman Oral Motor Approach to help your child eat the least restrictive diet! 

Who provides treatment for my child?

Speech Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists at BDI Playhouse are licensed and trained to:

  • turn mealtime into positive experiences
  • increase oral motor strength and coordination
  • teach your child to tolerate, interact with, or eat foods of varying textures and consistencies
  • address cup, straw, and bottle drinking
  • intake enough calories a day for growth and nutrition
  • utilize specialized techniques such as Beckman Oral Motor Approach, OMT, Food Chaining & Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach
  • target effective use of utensils
  • coach and provide resources to families so they can help your child overcome these mealtime obstacles

Table Eating

Why should my child get feeding therapy?

telehealth

Research has shown that difficulties with eating and poor nutrition can cause:

  • stunted growth correlated with poor academic performance and lowered mental capacity
  • emotional and psychological development issues
  • a decrease in a child’s activity level, social interactions, and curiosity

What does an evaluation look like?

The initial portion of a feeding evaluation will be done virtually.  The evaluating clinician will discuss with you any concerns you may have for your child, pertinent medical history, and the reason why your child was referred for their evaluation. The rest of the evaluation depends greatly on your child’s age and specific needs. The clinician will assess your child’s current feeding skill level and address any areas of difficulty during this evaluation.

If feeding therapy is recommended, individual therapy sessions may occur on a consultative basis or on a weekly basis.  You and the evaluating therapist will decide on goals and location (clinic or virtual) of services.

telehealth

Questions about Picky Eating or Feeding Concerns?

[receiver]

708-478-1820

[mail]

info@bdiplayhouse.com

Find Answers & Get Started

Continue reading