Assessment and Treatment of Feeding Problems in Children: An Intensive Home-based Approach matters because it changes what a BCBA notices when decisions have to hold up in home routines and caregiver-led implementation, school teams and classroom routines. In Assessment and Treatment of Feeding Problems in Children: An Intensive Home-based Approach, for this course, the practical stakes show up in safe, humane intervention that respects health variables and daily-life feasibility, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Florida Association of Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →Children with feeding difficulties often face a range of challenges related to eating and drinking. For example, some children may exhibit significant behavioral issues (such as crying, aggression, or self-injury) when presented with any food or liquid, which can eventually lead to tube dependency. Other children may only demonstrate problem behaviors in response to specific foods or liquids—such as selectivity based on type, texture, or presentation format—resulting in nutritional deficiencies and potential social stigma. Additionally, some children may eat a variety of foods but in limited quantities, which can lead to poor weight gain. These feeding challenges are typically addressed by a single professional or a multidisciplinary team that may include a pediatric gastroenterologist, occupational or speech therapist, nutritionist, and/or behavioral psychologist/behavior analyst. Treatment options can take place in a clinic, hospital, or home setting. The goal of this presentation is to provide an overview of the assessment and treatment of feeding problems in children using an intensive home-based model. It will highlight how treatment can be effectively initiated in the home environment by an interdisciplinary team. The presentation will also cover key guidelines for achieving optimal success in the program. This session is designed to help BCBAs and BCaBAs understand how feeding assessment and treatment can begin in less controlled environments, offering insights on determining the best starting point for treatment. Additionally, video recordings will be shown, illustrating a patient's journey from the start of treatment to discharge.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
| FL MH/PSY | 1 | — |
Dr. Patel has been working with children with autism and other disabilities for 30 years. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Patel received a BS degree from the University of California at Davis in 1996 in Psychology with an emphasis in Biology. She continued her graduate training in Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Dr. Patel received her PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis under the supervision of Dr. James Carr, Dr. Patrick Ghezzi, and Dr. Sidney Bijou in 2000. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2001 under the supervision of Dr. Cathleen Piazza and Dr. Wayne Fisher. Dr. Patel joined the faculty at the Marcus and Kennedy Krieger Institutes in 2001 and Emory University School of Medicine in 2002. Dr. Patel was a case manager in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders and Early Intervention Programs at the Marcus and Kennedy Krieger Institutes from 2001-2003. In 2003, she started Clinic 4 Kidz, which is a Home-Based Interdisciplinary Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Clinic 4 Kidz. Dr. Patel is also an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology at Stanford University School of Medicine.Her research and clinical interests focus on treating feeding problems in children who have underlying medical issues or children diagnosed with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. In addition, she has expertise in working with children with autism and other developmental disabilities. She is currently an associate editor for Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Patel is also on the editorial boards of Behavior Analysis in Practice and Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. She is serving as a guest editor for the research topic “Unpacking the Correlation between Feeding Difficulties and Feeding Disorders in Children” for Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Patel also serves as a guest reviewer for several behavioral and pediatric journals. She has published research studies in peer-reviewed journals and has authored invited book chapters. Dr. Patel has also been invited to present at numerous conferences and at various hospitals all over the world. Dr. Patel also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco and she is on the Clinical Advisory Board for the MEAL PlanR project funded by the Georgia Research Alliance.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.