Mealtime Miseries: Management of Complex Feeding Issues

Elizabeth Clawson, MS, Ph.D., LCP, HSPP

and

Carol Elliott, B.S., OTR/L

How does feeding, a process so integral to the child’s health and well-being, go awry? The focus of this two-day course is on the Transdisciplinary Effective Assessment and Treatment (TR-eat^TM) model integrating oral motor therapy techniques and behavioral management for the treatment of complex feeding problems. It will cover innovative strategies and case examples to address oral aversion, food refusal, poor transition onto solid foods, texture grading, learning to chew, self-feeding and feeding difficulties related to autism and picky eaters. This course is packed with practical solutions and hands-on techniques that will empower you with new treatment ideas for your most complex patients. These interventions are systematic and evidence based. This course is appropriate for the following clinicians working with children with feeding disorders:  OT, COTA, SLP, RD, RN, CSW, Psychologists.

Course Objectives

• Identify the foundation of the TR-eat™ model.
• Identify variables that produce complex pediatric feeding problems including medical, oral motor and behavioral.
• Identify feeding interventions across developmental stages.
• Differentiate between select behavioral strategies including shaping, chaining and fading as a catalyst to enhance oral motor and therapeutic skill building.
• Implement texture grading techniques and apply them to the process of making pureed table foods for children weaning from tube feedings and learning how to chew.
• Recognize treatment strategies for “picky eaters”, including those with autism, using behavioral interventions.
• Identify methods to improve problem-solving skills through careful analysis to determine the most effective treatment plan to maximize desired outcomes.

About the Presenters

Elizabeth Clawson, MS, Ph.D., LCP, HSPP is an internationally renowned pediatric clinical psychologist known for her extensive work in the field of pediatric feeding disorders. Dr. Clawson is a Licensed Clinical Child Psychologist and Director for the Pediatric Feeding Program at St. Vincent Hospital Center for Children in Evansville, Indiana. Elizabeth received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1996. She completed her internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with rotations in pediatric feeding therapy and hospital consultation/liaison intervention. Dr. Clawson has worked in the area of pediatric psychology since 1992 and specialized in treating children with feeding disorders since 1996. She has been committed to establishing clinical data and research. She co-developed the TR-eat^® Model with Carol Elliott, OTR/L in 2009 and has multiple research publications, presentations, and consultation contracts in the area of pediatric feeding therapy.

Carol Elliott, B.S., OTR/L is an internationally recognized and energetic speaker.  She is the owner of her private practice Pediatric Feeding Services and co-owner of the Pediatric Feeding Institute.  She was employed at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU for 23 years, 19 of which she worked full time in the Children’s Feeding Program.  Carol began her career in the area of pediatric Occupational Therapy in 1987 after receiving her degree at Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA. Prior to specializing in feeding disorders, her clinical areas of expertise were pediatric brain injury, splinting/casting, burns and sensory integration. Since 1998 Carol has devoted her career to developing and implementing treatment techniques for children with complex feeding disorders including the development of the TR-eat^® Model with Elizabeth Clawson, PhD in 2009. Along with her full time clinical practice, she has published multiple articles, conducted numerous presentations and has provided consultative services to other professionals and treatment centers in the area of pediatric feeding evaluation/treatment.

Lunch and all break refreshments are included. Certificates of attendance will be issued to all participants.

Schedule:

Day One

• 7:30-8:00 – Registration
• 8:00-9:45 – Review of feeding development birth-24 months (video examples).Identification of common etiologies related to feeding problems and challenges.Feeding difficulties for the “new” feeder – Evaluation/treatment (medical management, formula, positioning) with case studies
• 9:45-10:00 – Break
• 10:00-11:30 – Continue evaluation/treatment for the “new” feeder (oral-motor interventions, introducing spoon feeding) with case studies
• 11:30 – 12:30 – Lunch
• 12:30 – 2:30 – Practice spoon placement and handling techniques, squeeze bottle use and preparation of smooth pureed table foods
• 2:30 – 2:45 – Break
• 2:45 – 4:30 – Introduction and application of behavioral principles, clinical problem solving, case examples

Day Two

• 7:30-8:00 – Registration
• 8:00-9:45 – Continuation of application of behavioral principles, clinical problem solving, case examples. Feeding problems and interventions for the “advanced” feeder (baseline evaluations, positioning, texture grading – preparation of texture graded pureed/chopped table foods, teaching chewing skills)

• 9:45-10:00 – Break
• 10:00-11:30 – Continue interventions for the “advanced” feeder (teaching chewing skills, addressing food packing behavior, introduction of self-feeding) with case studies
• 11:30-12:30 – Lunch
• 12:30- 2:30 – Continue interventions for the “advanced” feeder (self-feeding, cup drinking, straw drinking) with case studies. Treatment techniques for children with autism and the “picky” eater (food fading, systematic desensitization, structured mealtimes, reward programs) with case examples
• 2:30-2:45 – Break
• 2:45-4:30 – Continue treatment techniques for children with autism and the “picky” eater (food fading, systematic desensitization, structured mealtimes, reward programs) with case examples

Workshop Cancellation Policy