CHOC Feeding Team Multidisciplinary Approach

CHOC’s feeding program takes a multidisciplinary approach to meet the individual needs of each of its patients. A feeding team is assigned to each patient and includes the following specialized caregivers:

• Gastroenterologist: A nurse practitioner or physician from GI will review child’s past medical history and current GI needs. The GI specialist will review medical records and speak with the family to ensure that any GI problems related to food refusal have been evaluated and/or treated. Recommendations may be made for additional medical tests or medication trials.
• Speech and Language Pathologist/Occupational Therapist: The child will be evaluated jointly by both a speech therapist and occupational therapist. The evaluation will include an observed feeding by child’s parent/guardian and evaluation of the child’s oral-motor skills and sensory processing. The therapists may also attempt to feed the child using alternative feeding strategies. Recommendations may be made for additional evaluations for speech delays or motor delays.
• Dietitian: A registered dietitian will review the child’s current food intake and nutritional needs. The child’s current height and weight will be measured and the child’s growth chart will be reviewed. The dietitian will also make a list of the child’s current preferred foods for use in feeding therapy. Recommendations may be made regarding ideal food intake and the use of supplements.
• Psychologist: The parent-child feeding interaction is observed to determine if there are behavioral factors that are interfering with or maintaining the child’s current feeding patterns. Along with speech and occupational therapy, determinations are made regarding the child’s difficulties with sensory processing. The child will also be evaluated for other emotional or behavioral difficulties and family factors which may be contributing to the feeding problem.
• Social Worker: The social worker on the team will evaluate any family needs that may interfere with the family participating in the inpatient program and/or assist the family in gaining access to additional resources.