Mealtime Hostage is grateful for the input, mentoring, and online support donated by the following professionals. The professionals listed are trusted for their rare understanding of how to repair and nurture a healthy relationship with food, eating and weight.

These professionals do not pay to be listed, nor does Mealtime Hostage receive compensation for their mention.

 

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Ellyn Satter Institute
Ellyn Satter, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Family Therapist and internationally recognized authority on eating and feeding, who pioneered the Satter Feeding Dynamics Model and the Satter Eating Competence Model. She is the author of the Division of Responsibility in Feeding, which is the gold standard for feeding children. In her transformative, practical, theoretically sound, and evidence-based conceptualizations of eating and feeding, Satter emphasizes competency rather than deficiency, providing rather than depriving, and trust rather than control.
Private coaching is available from faculty members at ESI.

Dawn Friedman
Dawn is the founder of Building Family Counseling in Columbus, Ohio. She has a most supportive and enlightening understanding of anxiety, and her blog should be in every parent’s toolbox.

 

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REGISTERED DIETITIAN 
A Registered Dietitian (RDN) is a valuable resource to answer questions and guide parents with concerns about growth, intake and nutrition. There are several RDNs in this group who are well versed in the Division of Responsibility.

United States

• Healthy Little Eaters, Washington state
• Eat Play Live Nutrition Therapy, Oregon
• Brilliant Bites, New York
• Feeding Problems Solved, New York
• Gavi RD, Pennsylvania

International

• gracewongrd [at] gmail [dot] com – Calgary, Alberta
• Tribeca Nutrition, UK
• Family Food Works, Crows Nest, NSW, Australia

Teens and Adults
The following RDs are a rare calibre of dietary professional, able to effectively support the nutritional and emotional needs of teens and adults while healing a damaged relationship with both food and weight. Services available in person or via Skype.

• HAES Health, Mandurah, W. Australia
• The Fat Nutritionist, Toronto, Ontario
• BVM-RD, California

What do YOU want from the dietitian?

I’m a dietitian and at my first meeting with a client, I ask a lot of questions to get a history of feeding/eating from birth to present. I might want a food record for 5-7 days so I can see exactly what the child is eating. I prefer to see a comparison between what is served and what is eaten, but I give a printout to make that easy. I ask for video recording of a few family meals (3 or so).

Separate from the visit, I go over medical records from birth to present and go over the growth history/growth chart. I do not weigh patients–I leave that up to the doc. Depending on what my assessment shows (info I gather listed above) then we’d come up with some a plan. It would be based on the Division of Responsibility in Feeding.

Think about what you want from the dietitian because that should be important to her. RDs can’t always just give people exactly what they want, because we are not machines and sometimes what parents want isn’t possible or feasible right away. A lot of adult patients come in wanting a meal plan. “Just tell me what to eat” but we know that doesn’t work and thus it is rare that I would just say “Here you go. Eat this, enjoy.” But it will help for you to tell her exactly what you are hoping for so that can guide her as she works with you to come up with a plan.”
~Healthy Little Eaters

 

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OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
Occupational therapists (OT) are health care professionals who help people learn or re-learn to manage the every day activities.
College of Occupational Therapists (Ontario)

• Wee Spirits Grow, Ontario, Canada
• lori [dot] howell [at] rogers [dot] com – Ottawa, Ontario

Feeding therapy is sometimes necessary – there are children who have medical needs or do not have the skills or experience with food to learn how to eat without help. If you suspect the eating issue is mechanical (chewing, swallowing, tongue movement…) or medical (celiac, EoE, reflux…), please seek out the help of a trained specialist.

Please, if you are struggling with a selective eater who CAN eat, CAN manage a variety of textures, and CAN swallow preferred foods without distress, and are considering feeding therapy to increase dietary variety… Ask. LOTS. Of. Questions.

Clean tools in dirty hands can be more harmful than helpful. “Instead of desensitization through behavioral modification or exposure therapy aimed at increasing the amount and variety consumed, what children endure, often for months on end, is actually very effective aversion therapy.”
~The Feeding Doctor

As a parent, you are an essential part of your feeding team. It is your responsibility to choose a therapist that is a good fit for your child’s specific needs, and don’t ever be embarrassed to end therapy that is causing your child distress.

 

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SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) identify, assess and treat speech, language and feeding problems.
CASLPO (Search for SLPs in Ontario)
ASHA (Search for SLPs in the US)
SPA (Search for SLPs in Australia)

• Extreme Picky Eating Help
• Callier Center for Communication Disorders, Dallas, Texas
• Mealtime Notions, Tuscon, Arizona
• Therapy and Learning Services, New Carlisle, Indiana
  Specializing in swallowing disorders, feeding difficulties, and Executive Functioning
• New Visions, Charlottesville, Virginia
• Helping Minnesota’s Kids Twin Cities, Minnesota
• Alphabet Soup Speech Consultants New Jersey
• Babble and Munch Speech Pathology, Eltham, Victoria Australia
  Specializing in reflux
• Let’s Eat! Paediatric Speech Pathology, Newcastle, Australia

What Does A Typical Feeding Assessment Look Like?

You can expect the therapist to ask lots of questions about history – from infancy to current – development, health etc; conduct an oral peripheral exam if it is possible with the child (looking in the mouth at the structures & observe how everything moves); observe a feed or mealtime (perhaps a video too of one from home); maybe get you to complete some checklists or questionnaires etc.

When the assessment process is finished (which may take more than one session) they would usually then discuss with you their assessment findings, what issues they may have ‘ruled out’, what areas they feel may be contributing to the feeding/eating difficulties & what they would recommend (including what/if any types of therapy, how often, what type of things to be focusing on at home, any other referrals that they would recommend etc). They may also discuss your child’s strengths & interests that can be a good foundation to build on, as well as what your main goals are, and what you feel may be achievable.

In terms of questions you could ask, I think if you don’t understand any of the process, why they did something as part of assessment, or why they are doing or recommending a certain therapy, then it is important that you feel comfortable to ask for them to explain and discuss. Assessment & therapy is meant to be based around a partnership between the therapist and the family. Therapists should know a lot about their area of work, but you are the expert on your own child! Always remember that.

 

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CLINICS

Australia
Senses Australia
Burswood (Perth), WA
We have heard some wonderful things about Rebecca (OT) & Jodie (SLP).

United States
North Sound Nourishment and Recovery
Everett, Washington
North Sound Nourishment and Recovery is an outpatient treatment clinic that specializes in the prevention and treatment of clinical and sub-clinical eating disorders for all ages from infancy to seniors.

Pediatric Development Center
Rockville Maryland
Tracy Wilson, M.S., OTR/L, Amy Wetherill, M.A., CCC-SLP, COM and Louise Janus, M.S., CCC-SLP

International
The Institute of Paediatric Tube Management and Weaning
Consultations available by Skype
A program designed for children with complex medical conditions and long-term feeding tube dependency.

 

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Additional Support on Facebook
Reflux Infants Support Association (Website)
Home Based Feeding Tube Weaning (Facebook)
Lives In The Balance (Website) Collaborative Problem Solving by Dr. Ross Greene

Speech and Sensory Tools

• Language Building Tips for Parents

Updated: September 6, 2017