Foundations in Feeding

The pleasure of eating extends beyond the feeling of satiety to the pleasure gained through food ingested by the infant and provided by the mother, who is most often the primary caregiver. This interactive primary relationship is the first for every neonate. It serves as a foundation for normal development, somatic growth, communication skills, and psychosocial well-being. Thus, feeding of the newborn infant, young child, and rapidly growing teen is an activity with far-reaching consequences.  (Arvedson, Brodsky, Lefton-Greif, 2020)

Building foundational skills for the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders is essential. During our time together, we will begin to lay that strong foundation starting with normal anatomy and physiology of the swallow while incorporating a knowledge basis for the developmental milestones of related gross and fine motor skills. Visual teaching aids (power points and video examples), graphs, and pictures will all be utilized to construct an understanding of how to assess typical and atypical development for practical application for assessing and treating pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders.

Follow along with us in your learning guide!  Grab your colored pencils, markers, highlighters, and sticky notes – you’re going to want to come back to this resource!

Following this training, participants will be able to:

1. Identify normal anatomical structures related to pediatric feeding and swallowing.
2. Explain the normal physiological process related to pediatric feeding and swallowing.
3. Define and identify normal development of gross and fine motor skills related to feeding and swallowing.
4. Identify typical and atypical feeding and swallowing behaviors to work towards assessment abilities.

This course meets the requirement for Professional Development hours towards your ASHA renewal since it is approved by TSHA! You can count these hours towards ASHA renewal when you submit your Compliance Form.