Long Island Spectrum Center: F.A.Q.

S.O.S. FEEDING PROGRAM

The feeding group at the Long Island spectrum center follows the sequential oral sensory approach developed by Dr. Kay Toomey, Ph.D. The SOS feeding program is a non-invasive developmental approach to feeding. It focuses on increasing a child's comfort level exploring and learning about the different properties of foods, including texture, smell, taste and consistency. The SOS approach allows a child to interact with food in a playful, non-stressful way. The SOS feeding program offered at the Long Island Spectrum Center is run by Tracey Haggerty, MA, CCC-SLP, a licensed speech and language pathologist as well as PROMPT certified.

The SOS approach follows a hierarchy to feeding, beginning with the basic ability to tolerate food in the room, in front of him/her, touching and eventually tasting and eating foods.

Parent education and involvement is an important part of this feeding approach. Parents watch each group's feeding sessions via video and eventually become a part of each session. A therapist works directly with the parent following each session to learn this approach to feeding. Parents learn to identify physical signs and body language to identify when the child is over stimulated and to assist with setting up the home program.

The SOS feeding program meets once a week for 10 to 12 weeks. Each session is approximately 90 minutes in length, which includes a parent training session.

Candidates For SOS Feeding Program
A candidate for the SOS approach to feeding at the Long Island spectrum center is a child who:

Struggles at meal time in a your home.
Has a phone brain of less than 20 foods.
Has poor weight gain or weight loss.
Catches and/or coughs excessively during meals.
Has oral motor issues or shows signs of tactile defensiveness.
Is transitioning from G-tube to oral feeding.
Has a low volume of oral intake.
Has a limited variety or tastes and textures in his/her diet.
Has difficulty transitioning to advance textures.
Refuses foods.
Has maladaptive behaviors surrounding eating.
Cries or arches at most meals.
Has a history of eating and breathing coordination problems.

A child that exhibits these difficulties may be appropriate for feeding evaluation period as part of the assessment, the parent and child will be observed eating a variety of preferred and non-preferred foods. A speech language pathologist will observe the child for signs of a world difficulties as well as sensory defensiveness, which may contribute to the child eating difficulties. Upon completion of the evaluation, a comprehensive assessment, complete with findings and recommendations will be forwarded to the client, as well as the referring physician. Upon completing the completion of the evaluation, and method of treatment is determined. This may include individual sessions or group sessions.

SOS Feeding Therapy Goals

Goals For Children:

To learn to have positive experiences with food.

To learn to mealtime routine and to seek eating.

To decrease resistance to touching, tasting and swallowing.

To increase range of foods child will try.

To increased volume of food into to interested.

Goals For Parents:

To tell their child's story.

To understand the ways children learn how to eat and how not to eat.

To recognize how they or others have contributed to the problem.

To learn accused the eating in the steps involved in eating.

To understand the use of positive and negative reinforcement.

To create a feeding program for their child to use in their home.