How do I get started?

An occupational therapist trained in SOS will review your child’s feeding, sensory and developmental history and observe a typical meal. Oral motor skills are then evaluated by a speech pathologist.

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What happens during a therapy session?

Sensory preparation in our sensory gym always comes first. Once your child is well-regulated we march, skip or jump to the eating room, where we continue with sensory warm-up activities for the mouth, such as blowing bubbles or windmills.

Next is food play for younger children, or food school/food science for older children. Food is presented in a logically orchestrated approach. Therapy can take place individually or in a small group with the participation of a parent or caregiver. Parent education including mealtime strategies for home, is a key part of the program

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Your child might benefit from SOS Feeding if he/she:

• Has extremely limited food choices (less than 20 foods, with foods being dropped and not replaced)

• Chokes or gags during meals

• Vomits regularly or has a history of reflux

• Refuses to eat any of the foods in a texture group or a nutrition group

• Cannot transition to baby food by 10 months of age

• Will not accept any solid food by 12 months of age

• Poor weight gain or weight loss

• Meals are a battleground
   

What happens during an SOS session? Children:

• Have positive experiences with food

• Learn mealtime routines and cues to eating

• Decrease resistance to touching, tasting and swallowing food

• Increase the quantity of foods they try

• Increase the volume of food they eat

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What makes SOS different from other feeding programs?

• It was developed in conjunction with other health professionals including psychologists, pediatricians, nutritionists, speech pathologists and occupational therapists

• It integrates posture, sensory, motor, behavioral, emotional, medical and nutritional factors

• It is rooted in normal development

• Treatment incorporates systematic desensitization with a strong emphasis on sensory regulation, and avoids rewards.

• Therapy can be implemented with one child or in a group

• It is a family centred care program. The involvement of the family and carryover at home are essential to assessment and treatment

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Why do we like SOS at POTS?

• It acknowledges that eating is the most difficult sensory task your child must engage in

• It incorporates both sensory and oral motor challenges in treatment planning

• Research studies have shown it not only works but generalizes and continues to work

• It doesn’t trick or force children to eat

• It provides parents with specific strategies

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