Artifacts 8-10

In March 2019, I attended a feeding course with a speech-lanaguage pathologist colleague. This course provided advanced training in providing therapeutic services to children with complex feeding issues. This course addressed the sensory, motor, and behavioral factors that impact feeding, as well as other internal and external influences. Through attending this course with a Speech-Langauge Pathologist, we were able to recognize the current strengths and gaps within our respective practices, as well as how our disciplines hold unique though complementary roles when working with medically complex children.

Prior to attending the advanced feeding training, my colleague and myself discussed wanting to make changes to the current patient intake forms. At the time, there existed only one general intake with a brief subsection regarding feeding, eating and swallowing. We found this form yielded limited information and did not always accurately capture the child's present needs and barriers. We felt this inhibited efficient referral for feeding therapy, in particular when providing recommendations and determining which discipline would be the best fit. Collectively we drew upon the unique and complementary perspectives from our own respective backgrounds, to create a revised supplemental feeding intake form.

As my colleague and myself worked to further refine the feeding therapy program and services, we began further collaborating on complex cases. As our departments grew, we found ourselves informally becoming mentors to other therapists interested in pursuing feeding therapy. As we looked to expand the feeding program, we wanted to ensure all therapists, regardless of discipline or background, held the same general competencies. We worked together to develop a feeding team competency skills checklist.

Collectively, these artifacts highlight the process of becoming a more informed and skilled clinician, providing developmental feeding therapy. Throughout this experience, I closely examine my own role as an occupational therapist, in the context of other disciplines, namely speech-language pathologists. I reflect on the ways in which my purview as an OT may offer a unique perspective, while also acknowledging the importance of collaborating and referring to other disciplines when appropriate.