Design your own programme
Here are some outline topics that you can choose to make up a programme to suit your participants. We will be happy to help you put the topics together to make a successful course.
APPETITE REGULATION
A child’s ability to regulate appetite is a key component of successful feeding. This module looks at how appetite regulation works, why it can go wrong and the consequences for feeding. You will learn how to interpret height and weight charts and be able to identify when poor appetite regulation is the reason for feeding difficulties.
DEVELOPMENT OF ORAL-MOTOR SKILLS
Learn how the young infant and child moves from a purely liquid diet to eating an adult diet. Find out what skills are needed to control different textures of food. You will also learn to recognise when a child has difficulty controlling food in the mouth and swallowing it.
SENSORY SENSITIVITY
Recent research has highlighted that sensory sensitivity is a factor underlying many feeding difficulties. This may be present across several modalities, for example, taste, smell, texture and visual presentation of food. Explore your own sensory sensitivity in practical exercises.
NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF FEEDING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
This module looks at the development of oral motor and sensory skills, food acceptance and the importance of exposure to tastes and textures in the first year of life. It explores the onset of ‘food neophobia’ – fear of new foods - and the link with child temperament and learning style.
PARENTAL FEEDING BEHAVIOURS AND FEEDING STYLES
This is a chance to look at different feeding strategies and whether they are successful or not. Parental attitudes to feeding and their level of anxiety are considered and the impact this has on their style of feeding. Recent research is explored to evaluate different approaches to overcome food refusal.
WHY THINGS GO WRONG
In this module we explore why feeding difficulties arise. Factors covered include: medical conditions and treatments, the child’s temperament and experience of eating and drinking, and parental anxiety and interaction with the child.
AVOIDANT AND RESTRICTIVE FEEDING DISORDER
This module will enable participants to gain a better understanding of the new diagnostic category of avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder (DSM V, 2013). This will include both the clinical presentation of this group of children and effective management strategies that can be used by professionals and parents.
EATING ISSUES AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)
Many children with ASD have issues with eating. In this module participants will learn more about the causes of eating difficulties in autism and learn a range of intervention strategies applicable for children and young people across the whole spectrum.
MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS AND IMPACT ON FEEDING
This will be of interest to professionals working with sick children. Medical conditions and their treatment may have an impact on the child’s appetite, sensory sensitivity and opportunities to experience food in a normal environment. On top of this, they may have aversive feeding experiences such as reflux and nausea.
TUBE FEEDING
This module considers how tube feeding interferes with normal appetite regulation and often leads to limited experience of food in the early years of life. Weaning off the tube then becomes difficult. Our approach to tube weaning is explained.
APPETITE REGULATION
A child’s ability to regulate appetite is a key component of successful feeding. This module looks at how appetite regulation works, why it can go wrong and the consequences for feeding. You will learn how to interpret height and weight charts and be able to identify when poor appetite regulation is the reason for feeding difficulties.
DEVELOPMENT OF ORAL-MOTOR SKILLS
Learn how the young infant and child moves from a purely liquid diet to eating an adult diet. Find out what skills are needed to control different textures of food. You will also learn to recognise when a child has difficulty controlling food in the mouth and swallowing it.
SENSORY SENSITIVITY
Recent research has highlighted that sensory sensitivity is a factor underlying many feeding difficulties. This may be present across several modalities, for example, taste, smell, texture and visual presentation of food. Explore your own sensory sensitivity in practical exercises.
NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF FEEDING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
This module looks at the development of oral motor and sensory skills, food acceptance and the importance of exposure to tastes and textures in the first year of life. It explores the onset of ‘food neophobia’ – fear of new foods - and the link with child temperament and learning style.
PARENTAL FEEDING BEHAVIOURS AND FEEDING STYLES
This is a chance to look at different feeding strategies and whether they are successful or not. Parental attitudes to feeding and their level of anxiety are considered and the impact this has on their style of feeding. Recent research is explored to evaluate different approaches to overcome food refusal.
WHY THINGS GO WRONG
In this module we explore why feeding difficulties arise. Factors covered include: medical conditions and treatments, the child’s temperament and experience of eating and drinking, and parental anxiety and interaction with the child.
AVOIDANT AND RESTRICTIVE FEEDING DISORDER
This module will enable participants to gain a better understanding of the new diagnostic category of avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder (DSM V, 2013). This will include both the clinical presentation of this group of children and effective management strategies that can be used by professionals and parents.
EATING ISSUES AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)
Many children with ASD have issues with eating. In this module participants will learn more about the causes of eating difficulties in autism and learn a range of intervention strategies applicable for children and young people across the whole spectrum.
MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS AND IMPACT ON FEEDING
This will be of interest to professionals working with sick children. Medical conditions and their treatment may have an impact on the child’s appetite, sensory sensitivity and opportunities to experience food in a normal environment. On top of this, they may have aversive feeding experiences such as reflux and nausea.
TUBE FEEDING
This module considers how tube feeding interferes with normal appetite regulation and often leads to limited experience of food in the early years of life. Weaning off the tube then becomes difficult. Our approach to tube weaning is explained.
