My philosophy for treatment is a whole child approach. I often say if the feet don’t work well, the mouth won’t be able to either. By looking at the whole child, I strive to address the underlying factors that affect feeding and speech and language development so that improvements that are made are long-lasting and permanent in the child’s life as they develop and change towards adulthood. I enjoy working closely with other disciplines especially with physical and occupational therapy to ensure all the child’s needs are being addressed.

My philosophy is shaped by my background in Neuro Development Treatment (NDT) and Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) treatment. Being certified in both these treatment approaches, my feeding strategies and philosophy combine both oral motor and sensory strategies to advance a child’s feeding skills. While keeping therapy fun and engaging, children are able to learn and advance their skills to ensure that those skills transfer across all environments that the child may encounter.

Another tool I am pleased to bring to a child’s therapy is neuromuscular electrical stimulation. The use of a VitalStim unit during feeding therapy can assist with the activation and recruitment of muscles to assist with feeding and swallowing in your child to ensure that your child is recruiting all the muscular activity he or she has the ability to use.