Feeding Disorders

A feeding disorder is when a child has difficultly eating resulting in a child being underweight, skipping / barely eating meals, having a limited diet, or gagging/ vomiting while eating. If not resolved, feeding disorders can affect your child physically and mentally.

 

Since birth my daughter has had trouble with eating. I tried to breast feed her right after she was born and noticed then that there was a problem. We sought help from a lactation consultant, but she still had a hard time latching on and didn’t suck well. Since she was losing weight (born 8.9 lbs. and got down to 6.7 lbs.), we had to switch to formula. Even with a bottle, half of the formula would leak out of the sides of her mouth because she didn’t have a good seal. Knowing this, I would fill the bottle twice the amount that she needed. At our next doctor’s appointment (which at this point was every 48 hours), we were thrilled that didn’t need to go the route of a feeding tube because she gained weight, but the doctor did want my daughter to be evaluated by a speech pathologist that specialized in feeding. After visiting a speech pathologist (SLP), our daughter was diagnosed with a feeding disorder, and we were told she had low tone in her mouth. The SLP sent us next to a swallow study where they would watch my daughter eat with an x-ray machine. After the swallow study, it was recommended that we do feeding therapy one hour weekly. Since we started therapy, our therapist has done a wonderful job educating us along the journey so we know what to do at home. Two years later, my daughter is now drinking with a cup and increasing her amount of foods in her diet weekly. Here are some things I have learned along the way:

 

·         While feeding your child: have them sit up in a chair, give them small amounts of food each bite (maroon spoons are helpful with this), remind them not to eat too fast, encourage little sips (once child is drinking from a straw), check mouth for leftover food before giving another bite, and encourage them to chew well.

 

·         If your child is coughing, spitting up, or throwing up liquids, it might help to thicken the liquid to prevent aspirating. A product called Thick It can be used in drinks and puree food to create the desired consistency. Talk to your doctor about getting this at your pharmacy.

 

·         A specific diet, multi vitamin, and supplements can help your child catch up on weight or fill in for lack of nutrition.

 

·         Doing oral motor exercises throughout the day can help increase tone in the mouth and help your child be able to suck and chew effectively. One of our therapists has taught us to do Beckman, and the other therapist taught us Talk Tools. Both are great programs.

 

·         Let your child play with their food and explore different textures. If they won’t touch it, they won’t eat it. The more experience they have exploring the food in a multisensory way (touching, smelling, and seeing it often) the more likely they will try tasting it. I highly recommend food face plates to encourage food play.

 

·         Make the food look appealing through artwork. For example dress up a pancake with blue berry eyes, pineapple nose, and strawberry mouth.

 

·         Stay consistent for meal times and table setting (plate, fork, and spoon). Some kids have a hard time with change. Since the food will be changing, other things need to stay the same.

 

·         Food chaining can help increase the number of foods your child has in their diet. Use preferred foods to encourage non preferred foods.

 

·         Eat as a family to encourage the child with a feeding disorder, and to show the child what eating looks like.

 

I am still learning all I can do to help my daughter with feeding. If you have any ideas, techniques, or strategies, please share!