Approach

Empower the Learner: A child is empowered when they can express themselves, both in assenting or withdrawing that assent. By allowing the child to lead in communication, we ensure they have control over their learning pace, fostering a sense of autonomy and self-determination. We need to hear the opinions of our learners so we can better understand why something particular is bothering or helping them.

Encouraging Atmosphere: Together, the family and I will establish a positive and supportive environment. We will look for barriers in settings or the expectations typically placed in those settings and develop practical solutions so that both the child and the family can happily engage in the learning process across current and future mealtime settings.

Responsive Skill Growth: Observation and assessment will be conducted formally and informally throughout our sessions. This will make sure that strategies are tailored to the child's current abilities and ensure that learning is achievable and steady in it’s growth. Skills included in mealtimes are expansive! They include communication, food exploration, self-feeding, social skills like imitating others, advocating for themselves, finding their flexibility points and more. These skills will most likely not grow linearly which is why constant monitoring across skill domains is imperative to track growth.

Creativity and Flexibility: Families typically approach me after they have tried the general tips and tricks and are not seeing success. Or maybe they saw a little bit but aren’t sure how to expand that success. Developing practical approaches to suit the individual needs and preferences of each child and family requires a lot of creativity in trouble-shooting and flexibility in strategies used to shift when progress is questionable. This creativity and flexibility becomes a skill parents gain as they understand the rationales provided during sessions.