Intensive Feeding Program
Sos approach to feeding
We are trained in the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding approach
The Assessment
During your first appointment, we will be conducting an evaluation using the SOS Feeding Approach as well as the Beckman Oral-Motor Protocol which is in part observation and in part hands-on assessments with a variety of textured foods. The combination of these tools will allow us to better understand everything from your child’s muscle tone and strength to posture and feeding and swallowing. It is important to undergo a feeding assessment because feeding skills can change rapidly and alterations in seating, utensil use, distractions, etc can have important impacts on your child’s mealtimes.
Day 1 - 3
The goals in therapy sessions 1 - 3 are all about you and learning the routine. We want to get to know your family’s goals for meals, your struggles and mealtime battles. We will help you differentiate what is considered a “therapy meal” with a “family meal.” You will participate in therapy and see how we use play to de-stress a child’s nervous system so that they are more agreeable to first exploring food with all their senses and then possibly eating it. We use play in a Steps to Eating hierarchy to help our kids feel more comfortable with new or unfamiliar foods as we slowly make changes using a food hierarchy and food chaining system. We will provide further recommendations for referrals of other professionals as well.
Day 4 - 6
On Days 4 - 6, the goal is desensitization. Many people don’t think about how all-encompassing eating is. It requires all of the senses. The presentation of foods matters as do the smells, colors, and textures. Many of our students have one or more difficulties with these sensory experiences as it relates to food. In these therapy session days, we will be focusing on tolerating unfamiliar or new foods on our plates or near our bodies as well as interacting with, smelling and touching foods. We will introduce small changes to the previously used foods and learn sensory and oral-motor skills needed to improve feeding skills. We will work on appetite conditioning and you will learn how to detect your child’s signals for sensory input or overload.
In these sessions, we will be learning how to prevent food jags and changing 50% of the food presented by altering the taste, texture, shape or trying a new food. We will learn key phrases and the feelings that we bring to the table. Parents will observe the child and therapist in their interactions closely as a teaching tool to continue in their mealtimes.
Day 7 - 9
The remaining sessions of your program will focus on tasting and swallowing new foods and increasing the range and difficulty of the level of foods. Parents will learn about Emotion Based Discipline and create a plan to discharge and/or repeat lessons, as needed.