MILESTONES: At The Table
Program Overview:
Milestones: AT THE TABLE is a premier approach to swallowing and feeding that aims to help children learn how to safely play, explore, and enjoy eating their food! We aim to create positive experiences around food and establish healthy mealtime routines. We work to increase your child’s food range and overall nutritional intake through assessment and management of swallow function and safety, as well as sensory regulation and problem-solving during meals. Parents are integrated into weekly sessions to learn how to effectively complete home carryover, as building healthy eating habits extends far beyond the Milestones table!
Meet our feeding therapists:
Emily: Emily is a speech-language pathologist who has been at Milestones since 2021, but came to this setting from inpatient and outpatient rehab settings. Through her work in hospitals, she gained experience in feeding and swallowing with both adult and pediatric populations. Since then, she has continued to expand her feeding and swallowing knowledge through additional trainings in oral motor feeding disorders, postural stability, mealtime management, and swallowing disorders/medically based feeding problems. Emily’s favorite activities outside of work include getting outside and reading a good book.
Brie: Brie is an occupational therapist who has been working in pediatrics since 2018. She is trained in the SOS (sequential-oral-sensory) approach to feeding and has taken several advanced training and mentorship courses to help support kids learning to eat. She loves to help make feeding fun again for families! Brie’s favorite activities are baking, being outside, and playing with her daughter, Peyton.
- Seating ergonomics and postural stability
- Sensory processing and sensory-based problem-solving
- Oral motor strength and coordination
- Swallow function and safety
- Family meals at home
- Therapy meals at home
- Creating an effective mealtime routine
- Reducing distractions while eating
- Food jagging
What does the feeding program include?
This group offers you and your child the following:
- Before the start of the program, the therapists will schedule an initial evaluation to identify your child’s current feeding and swallowing abilities.
- You will be provided with a comprehensive feeding evaluation that can be shared with other providers as needed.
- Determining goals for your child. The development of feeding goals and the primary area of focus is completed with the occupational therapist, speech therapist, the child, and the parents. Your input is important and needed!
- Each week you will be given specific carryover and suggestions to practice at home until the next session.
- At the end of each round, you will be provided with either a progress note or discharge note with home carryover ideas.
FAQs about the AT THE TABLE program:
Can any child enroll in the program?
Children will be evaluated to identify if an intensive feeding group is the right fit for your child!
When is the group offered?
The group is currently offered in 12-week sessions. The program runs on Fridays, with hourly appointments between 8:00am and 4:30pm.
How many kids will be in each group?
The groups are limited to 2 kids in each session. Each dyad will include 2 kiddos, 2 parents/guardians (at least 1 present for each child), the speech therapist, and the occupational therapist. Spots fill quickly so if you are interested, please be sure to get in touch soon to join our waitlist!
Why are there two therapists running the program?
Eating is the most difficult occupation a child does by far! Our program addresses the sensory, motor planning, psychological, and feeding/swallowing aspects of eating. The speech therapist and occupational therapist combine their training and expertise to create a comprehensive program that targets all areas in order to support emerging skills as much as possible.
Do parents/caregivers need to participate in the sessions?
We do require that a caregiver who is consistently involved in the child’s mealtimes be present for each session. Participation is vital for successful carryover and home and generalization of skills! We are happy to work with families as much as possible to accommodate schedules.
Will my insurance cover the cost of the group?
We are able to accept many insurance plans at this time! Please call the office at 603-232-5922 or email feeding@milestonesnh.com to see if your insurance plan would cover the cost of feeding therapy.
Testimonials:
“Claire has finished her 2nd round of therapy and it went even better than I could have hoped! This session
helped me learn even more about Claire’s eating pattern and preferences. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for
her feeding journey!” – Claire’s mom
“I’m so grateful we found Brie and Emily. We love them and trust them both. I feel so much less stressed now
that I know some answers and wish we would have started here instead of the last 4 places and therapies Cameron and I
were a part of. I have seen more progress in the last 3 months than 5 years total in other programs. I am excited to see
what’s next in our journey!” – Cameron’s mom
“Brie and Emily have a gentle and warm approach, using food as toys and always being super silly and fun. My
son looks forward to each therapy session because for him it’s just playtime. I’ve also learned so many skills and feel
more confident in my ability to support my son’s unique needs.” – Wesley’s mom
“The feeding program has been so helpful. I felt hopeless on getting my daughter off her feeding tube and able
to eat normally. She has made great strides due to this program.”– Lorelai’s mom