By Donna Reigstad, MS, OTR
Please note this course closes permanentely on December 31, 2021 ensure completion by this date.
Earn .5 AOTA CEU (6.25 NBCOT PDUs/5 contact hours)
Teachers, families and health professionals are increasingly seeking Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists to address children's medical and behavioral feeding disorders. This beginner to advanced beginner course is for pediatric therapists interested in developing the foundational skills to provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment within an interdisciplinary setting. The student will be provided with information on:
- The anatomy and physiology of the swallow
- Normal oral motor and self-feeding development
- Behavioral and social aspects of feeding disorders
- Etiology and characteristics of dysphagia, food refusal, under-nutrition, and other common feeding disorders
- A sample therapeutic evaluation
- Practical treatment strategies
Topics include: The International Classification of Functioning and Disability, Normal Eating and Feeding Skills, Aspects of Eating and Feeding, Common Feeding Disorders, Management of Feeding Disorders, Therapeutic Assessment, Promoting Full Participation in Mealtime Environments, Therapeutic Treatment of Body Level Feeding/Eating Impairments and Special Populations and Case Studies.
Participants in this course will develop an understanding of normal and abnormal aspects of oral motor skills and swallowing, and examine the developmental, psychosocial and cultural factors affecting children's eating and feeding skills. The student will be able to develop informed evaluation and intervention strategies to promote safe eating/feeding skills, and to encourage children's participation in positive mealtime environments at home, school, and the community.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify medical factors that contribute to pediatric feeding disorders
- Distinguish between normal, delayed, and abnormal oral motor skills
- Screen for aspiration during a clinical feeding assessment
- Describe pediatric clinical and instrumental swallowing evaluations
- Describe the contributions of the interdisciplinary medical team in the diagnosis and treatment of feeding disorders
- Develop clinical evaluation strategies to assess oral motor skills, screen for swallowing problems, and identify common behavioral problems related to pediatric eating and feeding
- Plan appropriate family centered, culturally sensitive intervention strategies for children with motor and behavioral feeding disorders
Please note that this is a text based self paced elearning course; there is no audio component.
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