About

I believe feeding is so much more than calories. Successful feeding is an activity and an exercise in motor refinement, sensory understanding, learning form and texture, social interaction, flexibility and curiosity, reciprocation, comfort.

I began my career in general pediatric practice. In my five years of working with children, and becoming a mother myself, the role of feeding in a child’s development, and the distress for all involved when it goes awry became of great interest to me. Many children I worked with in the clinic were selective eaters, or had a history of struggling to feed from infancy. I began to wonder how the motor delay, sensory processing dysfunction, and social emotional difficulties I was treating in the clinic could be related to unresolved challenges with feeding.

There are many reasons feeding can be difficult for a child, and there are many ways that these difficulties can present. Feeding challenges, at whatever stage of development, require a devoted practitioner. I have focused my advanced professional education on lactation, sensory based feeding challenges, sensory integration, and oral motor skills in relation to feeding to supplement my doctoral education.

As an occupational therapist, I believe feeding is a natural opportunity occurring multiple times a day in which children are able to hone skills that are foundational to development across all areas. My hope is to help parents ensure these early experiences with feeding serve their developmental purpose.