PFTC™ Library Feed The Peds® CPFT™ Certification

Supporting Complex Sensory Feeders

5 Hours, 0.50 ASHA & AOTA CEUs 

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This course aims to support feeding therapists when working with complex sensory feeders by showing the importance of our “hidden senses”, connection, regulation, and felt-safety at and away from the table. Feel confident in supporting complex restrictive and picky eaters including neurodivergent clients, constant movement seekers, and children with extreme oral aversions. This course focuses on a trauma-informed, relationship-based, and neurodiversity-affirming approach. Leave this intermediate level course with concrete strategies for successful meal times including 3 ways to create felt-safety, 3 intervention strategies when working with complex sensory feeders, and an understanding of the important role of accommodations at mealtimes.

MEET OUR PRESENTER: 

Amy Williams M.S., OTR/L, SWC
 
Amy is a pediatric occupational therapist, feeding specialist, and the founder of San Diego Feeding Therapy. In providing clinic, school-based, and in-home experiences, Amy loves to help take the guesswork out of mealtimes by providing concrete strategies to help restrictive eaters try new foods, tolerate changes at the table, and become confident, nutritious eaters. In addition to providing child-led and neurodiversity affirming in-home feeding therapy, she also has an advanced practice certification in Swallowing, Assessment, and Evaluation or Intervention. Amy brings a unique sensory, regulation, and oral motor approach which works holistically with the child and meets a family wherever they are comfortable with respect to food.

TIME ORDERED AGENDA & LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The WHY behind complex sensory feeders:

0-18 minutes:  "Hidden" Sensory Systems & their relationship to mealtimes. 

18-48 minutes: How to support parents understanding of the sensory system and its role in restrictive eating. The nervous system and the foundation it lays for mealtime safety also discussed.

48-76 minutes: Meeting Sensory needs outside of therapy.

76-80 minutes: What does it look like when multiple sensory systems are impacted at mealtimes? 

80-97 minutes: What do you do when one tip/trick doesn't work?

97-128 minutes: Behavior vs Relationship-based approach to feeding therapy. Case studies/examples presented.  

Case studies/examples: 

128-154 minutes: Sensory differences across the senses- auditory, tactile, visual, movement.  

154-173 minutes: Reasons children struggle to sit still. 

173-195 minutes: Vomiting with sight or smell of foods.  

195-212 minutes: Extreme oral aversions.  

212-232 minutes: Regulated only in certain settings  

232-255 minutes: ASD/Neurodivergent Child 

255-273 minutes: Tube feedings  

273-295 minutes: Complex sensory, oral motor, or anxiety?

295-300 minutes: Main takeaways & Resources  

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

After completion of course participants will be able to: 

  • Illustrate the role of our "hidden senses" in complex sensory feeders.
  • Differentiate between 3 ways to create felt safety while building mealtime skills.
  • Differentiate between 3 intervention strategies to support complex sensory feeders. 
  • Outline the role of accommodations in mealtimes.
Enroll Now

This course is offered for 0.50 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate Level, Professional Area). 

AOTA CEUs are available for 5 contact hours in Service Delivery & Foundational Knowledge.

Please note if any accommodations are needed to access the learning experience or resource materials, please email [email protected] to discuss further.