BITES®: A Behavioral InTEgrated with Speech Approach to Feeding Therapy post by Laura Seiverling
A Behavioral Psychologist and SLP team up to present a series of webinars and workshops entitled BITES®: A Behavioral InTEgrated with Speech Approach to Feeding Therapy.
Pediatric feeding problems are complex and often require a multi-disciplinary approach to assessment and treatment. BITES® focuses specifically on how cross-disciplinary collaboration among speech-language pathologists (SLPS) and Psychologists and/or Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) can look when assessing pediatric feeding problems and developing interventions for them. Each discipline has a distinct and valuable role in the assessment and treatment process.
A main goal of this workshop is to provide education to both SLPs and psychologists/BCBAs in the areas of pediatric feeding disorders in which they may not have had formal or extensive training. For instance, many SLPs struggle when working with children who exhibit challenging and non-compliant behavior; however, there are a number of behavioral strategies that can be implemented to improve appropriate mealtime behavior. On the other hand, a psychologist/BCBA may be unaware of the various types of oral motor deficits or swallowing issues that children with feeding problems may have. An initial oral motor assessment conducted by an SLP may shed light on a child’s specific oral motor deficits with the SLP able to provide specific recommendations with respect to safe and appropriate food textures and specific oral motor skills to target during intervention. Our hope is that each clinician who attends our BITES® workshop will come away with new knowledge and a strong appreciation for multidisciplinary collaboration.
With over 30 years of combined experience in the field of pediatric feeding disorders, Dr. Laura Seiverling, Psychologist and BCBA-D, and Elise Jusko, CCC-SLP, draw from their own experiences working on a multidisciplinary feeding team together. In each BITES® presentation, they discuss the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, provide an overview of typical feeding development, the mechanics of eating, factors that contribute to feeding problems, discuss when and when not to use the BITES® approach, and detail the SLP and Psychologist/BCBA role in the assessment and treatment process. Case examples are provided for each of the feeding problems discussed.
More information can be found at their website: www.bitesfeedingtherapy.com
Here is a link to their upcoming webinar March 22, 2019:
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