This unique 2-day course benefits pediatric speech language pathologists and occupational therapists interested in the bigger picture pertaining to pediatric feeding disorders. Therapists want strategies to implement right away with their clients. Why do children have trouble eating? How are physiology, motor skills and behavior linked and how do the basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) strengthen that connection? How do family dynamics and parenting styles influence progress? Why is it that a child eats well in the clinic setting but cannot generalize those skills to the home and school? This course answers those questions, provides practical strategies to implement with a variety of clients, and focuses on setting children up for success for meeting functional objectives while utilizing the premise of ABA. Participants learn how to problem solve common roadblocks in eating and then continue to build progress by following a hierarchy of steps to success. Most importantly, this course emphasizes the importance of keeping the fun in feeding while developing consistent positive behaviors at mealtimes so that everyone in the family can enjoy their time together around the family table!

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing the 2-day seminar, participants will be able to:

*Discuss how protective behaviors develop when GI discomfort, sensory processing challenges, delayed gross and/or fine motor skills impact a child’s willingness to eat

*Apply gentle, basic principles of Applied Behavior Analysis to the treatment of pediatric feeding clients

*List 5 strategies for improving tongue mobility and developing mature swallowing patterns in children

*Describe how to teach the following skills to toddlers and older: biting, chewing, swallowing independently, straw and open cup drinking

*Implement a hierarchical method of problem solving to meet functional outcomes

*Understand how to problem solve new challenges with future clients by systematically breaking the task into smaller steps and teaching one step at a time

Photo courtesy of David McMillon Images

AGENDA: Feeding Therapy: It’s Not Just about Swallowing

DAY 1
8:30 to 10:00 Introduction to Course & Understanding the Four Foundations for Learning to Eat

10:00 t0 10:15 BREAK

10:15 to 11:00 Understanding the Four Foundations for Learning to Eat (Cont.)

11:00 to 12:00 Basic Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

12:00 to 12:30 Establishing Stable Oral Motor Patterns for Eating

12:30 to 1:30 LUNCH

1:30 to 2:45 How to Keep the Fun in Feeding: Consistent Progress with ABA

2:45 to 3:00 BREAK

3:00 to 4:30 Setting Kids up for Success: Adapting Food and Parenting Strategies at Home

4:30 Adjourn

DAY 2

8:30 to 9:00 Problem Solving Challenges in the School Cafeteria

9:00 to 10:15 Case Study #1

10:15 to 10:30 BREAK

10:30 to 12:30 Case Study #2 & #3

12:30 to 1:30 LUNCH

1:30 to 2:30 Case Study #4 with Q & A

2:30 to 2:45 BREAK

2:45 to 3:15 Oral Motor Strategies for Developing the Mature Swallow Pattern

3:15 to 4:00 A Hierarchical Approach to Problem Solving Common Roadblocks:
Refusing to Sit, Eating Too Slowly, Throwing Food and More.

4:00 Self Reflection Requirement (for CEUs) and Final Thoughts

4:30 Adjourn

(Please stay till 4:30 to be sure you get your CEUs!)

Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, treats children birth to teens who have difficulty eating. Melanie’s advice has been shared in a variety of television and print media, including The New York Times, Huffington Post and Parents Magazine. She is the co-author of the award-winning Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating (2015) and Baby Self-Feeding: Solutions for Introducing Purees and Solids to Create Lifelong Healthy Eating Habits (2016). Her popular food activity book, titled Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Kids Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes (2018) is based on the research and Melanie’s 20 years of success as a pediatric feeding therapist. Melanie is the author of Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids (2010) and the producer of the award-winning kids’ CD Dancing in the Kitchen: Songs that Celebrate the Joy of Food! . Her children’s storybook includes tips for parents on how to use pretend play to encourage adventurous eating in kids ages two to six years. You are Not an Otter: The Story of How Kids Become Adventurous Eaters and all of Melanie’s books can be found at www.amazon.com/author/melaniepotock. Melanie’s live and online courses for parents and professionals can be found at www.MelaniePotock.com, along with her contact information.

Website: www.MelaniePotock.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyMunchBug/

Financial

- Melanie Potock is the author of 5 books on the topic of feeding children and receives royalties for 4 of those books. Royalties continue while the book is sold in bookstores and on-line retailers. Melanie is the executive producer of a children’s music CD and profits from the sale of music downloads.

- Melanie contributes educational content for other websites for a fee. The content is typically related to feeding children, picky eating and parenting advice.

- Melanie is a paid product consultant for several food companies that create foods or supplements for children. Her advice is strictly educational in nature and not an endorsement of any product. Time commitments vary and are on a contractual basis.

- Melanie has video courses on her website that are focused on pediatric feeding disorders and picky eating. Viewers pay a subscription fee to access the video courses.

Non-financial

- Melanie Potock has volunteered and contributed articles to the ASHA Leader Blog on the topics of pediatric feeding disorders and related issues for over 3 years.

- Melanie wrote the cover story for The ASHA Leader (April 2017) on Autism Spectrum Disorders and The Cooking Connection, which may be discussed briefly in this presentation. It was not a paid contribution to The Leader.

- Melanie is a volunteer member of the Feeding and Swallowing Across the Lifespan Topic Committee 2019

- Melanie is the co-creator of The Doctor Yum Preschool Curriculum, a volunteer position for The Doctor Yum Project and a 501 (c)3 organization.

https://sensationalbrain.com/continuing-education/policies-procedures/

Sensational Brain LLC is an AOTA Approved Provider of continuing education (#8215). AOTA does not endorse specific course content, products, or clinical procedures.

This course is approved for 1.3 AOTA CEU or thirteen contact hours under this Classification Codes: Category 2, OT Process: Intervention.

This course is offered for 1.3ASHA CEUs (Introductory level, Professional area).