March is when The Energy Source celebrates National Swallowing Awareness. The mouth and throat are used for both speaking and eating. We have a team of speech language therapists with international training in the identification and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders and picky eating.
If your child has mealtime difficulties, you may be wondering if feeding therapy can help. Feeding difficulties may present as:
- Irritability at mealtimes
- Refusing food or liquid
- Gagging and/or vomiting during meals
- Only accepting a limited variety of foods
- Excessive drooling and/or food & liquid spilling from the mouth
- Coughing and/or choking
- Not chewing food
- Leaving the table before the meal is finish
At the Energy Source we use research based strategies that focus on the developmental steps, stages and skills of feeding.
The Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach is an internationally recognized program for helping kids to develop a healthy and enjoyable, lifelong relationship with food. The program allows children to interact with food in a playful, non-stressful way. While the kids think it’s just having fun, they are actually learning new skills and eating new foods.
With the SOS approach children transition through different stages including looking, smelling, interacting with, touching, tasting, and eventually tasting new foods. Each stage is addressed based on the child’s individual skills and readiness.
If you want to find out more about the SOS Approach or to schedule an appointment with a therapist, then please check out our website.
Does your child have feeding difficulties? Answer these six questions to identify any possible red flags.
Red flag answers are in orange. If 2 or more of your answers are orange please contact The Energy Source to schedule a consultation with one of our therapists.
This article is written by Penny Gumbel, our Senior Speech and Language Therapist.
