Tube to Table

S2, Ep. 4: Feeding Skill Development and Tube Weaning

In this episode of Tube to Table, Jennifer and Heidi are letting you all in on a little secret: most kids learn to eat while they’re eating and participating in continued meaningful experiences surrounding a mealtime.  

 

Often times, traditional feeding therapy has a narrow skill-based focus that may include oral motor skills, self-feeding skills, increasing volumes, or expanding varieties. Skill development actually includes much more than just those things! To target a skill, we need to zoom out to address the fundamentals. We know that learning is most successful when the learner is an active participant: When they are motivated or in charge of their learning, when they have felt safety, and when they’re given appropriate support that doesn’t undermine or take over.  

 

For many of us adults, there’s an innate meaningfulness in food. What we forget is that it develops through experiences, and often, tube-fed kids do not have the same opportunities. Motor skills build over time, through experience and enjoyment, and by actively participating in activities already occurring throughout your home. Having your tube-fed child sit at the table with you during a meal provides tons of meaningful experiences!  

 

No matter the skill you want to help your tube fed child to learn, whether its variety, volume, oral motor strength, sensory processing, or self-regulation, the goal is to see the big picture and help create an ideal and positive environment. 

 

** Please remember this podcast is NOT meant to replace the support and guidance of your child's medical team.  Consult with your doctor before starting the weaning process.** 

 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram and Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics on Facebook. You can also find out more information about the programs we offer at www.thrivewithspectrum.com 

 

S2, Ep. 3: When Kids Say NO! (And Why It's Important)

Welcome to Tube To Table: The podcast about helping tube fed kids become happy and healthy eaters. In this episode, Jeni and Heidi are here to help parents understand why hearing “no” from your tube-fed child can be a good thing. Learning to accept “no” as parents can be a game changer for mealtimes and can help caregivers reframe what refusal means for their tube-fed child.  

 

Did you know that food refusal is actually developmentally appropriate, regardless of the neurological identity of your child? It is easy to consider refusals as a problem or a deficit, however, it is an important part of the developmental process. It's a way for children to express that they’re unsure or perhaps not ready, and they’re actually doing the right thing by avoiding something that likely caused negative feelings in the past. As loving and well-meaning adults, this can feel like a failure or rejection, like a loss of control, and as if we’re not doing our jobs properly. It’s hard to know how to appropriately respond when it does come up.  

 

Jeni and Heidi are here to help you understand the WHY: why it’s important to accept refusals, why we look at your child’s experiences around eating and feeding and not just the act of eating, and why we allow kids the space and time to create a happy and healthy relationship with food. 

 

** Please remember this podcast is NOT meant to replace the support and guidance of your child's medical team.  Consult with your doctor before starting the weaning process.** 

 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information: @TubetoTable and @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram and Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics on Facebook. You can also find out more information about the programs we offer at www.thrivewithspectrum.com  

 

S2, Ep. 2: What I Wish They Had Told Me!

Did your child just receive a feeding tube? Are you feeling stuck in feeding therapy? In this episode of Tube To Table, we are diving into the topic of what parents wish they had been told when their child first got their feeding tube. Feeding tubes can be a medical necessity and can help keep kids safe when needed. We’re here to remind you that this is not your fault, and your child can do this!  

 

The transition from being tube-fed to becoming an oral eater can be tricky and it is often not an automatic process. No matter where you are in the process, today’s podcast will touch on a few of the most important factors to look at when starting the transition to tube weaning. We’ll talk through the tricky thought patterns you may be experiencing, why you could be feeling stuck in feeding therapy and how to support progress, and what our roles are as adults to help children feel safe and supported during this transition.  

 

** Please remember this podcast is NOT meant to replace the support and guidance of your child's medical team.  Consult with your doctor before starting the weaning process.** 

 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Tubetotable and @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram and Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics on Facebook. You can also find out more information about the programs we offer at www.thrivewithspectrum.com 

S2, Ep. 1: Tube to Table Reboot

Welcome to Tube To Table: The podcast about helping tube fed kids become happy and healthy eaters. In Episode 1 of Season 2, you’ll get re-acquainted with your hosts, Jennifer Berry and Heidi Moreland as they talk about Responsive Feeding and the transition from Tube to Table. Jennifer is an occupational therapist and founder of the Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics Tube Weaning Program, and Heidi is a speech-language pathologist and clinical coordinator of the Thrive Tube Weaning Program. Both Jennifer and Heidi have over 30 years of combined experience working with families of tube-fed children.  

 

Episode 1 dives into some of the unknowns as a parent or loved one of a tube-fed child, including how to help wean when the tube is no longer medically necessary. There can sometimes be a mismatch and frustration around the whole process, focusing on a child’s deficits. Jennifer and Heidi talk about the focus on “why” and the experience of the child to guide our program.   

 

Jennifer and Heidi are here to help you “zoom out”. To help parents and caregivers take some focus off counting calories, measuring volume, counting number of bites, chewing in a certain way, closing lips, etc. and help you see your child’s experience of feeding in the big picture. We want to help you develop foundations for your child’s experience so that you can see how they’re relating to food and feeding. These foundations then help develop and build the skills that they need to eat more and use the tube less. 

**Please remember this podcast is NOT meant to replace the support and guidance of your child's medical team.  Consult with your doctor before starting the weaning process. **

Don’t forget to follow us on our other social media accounts: @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram and Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics on Facebook. You can also find out more information about the programs we offer at www.thrivewithspectrum.com. 

 

Episode 44: Reframing Refusal

Welcome back to the Tube to Table Podcast. On this week’s episode, Reframing Refusal, Heidi and Jennifer are talking about how to reframe the experience you and your child have when they refuse to eat. We are so thankful for all of our listeners and have loved hearing how this podcast is helping therapists and families implement responsive feeding into their mealtimes! With the summer approaching, we are planning to take some time off to record some new episodes and will be back with Season 2 in a couple months! For today’s episode, your hosts will dive into what refusal looks like and how to handle it when it happens before, during, or after the intensive weaning process. Refusal is a natural and necessary part of development and how your child learns to have a happy and healthy relationship with food. What do you do when your child refuses to eat? Why does refusal happen and what does it mean? All of these questions will be answered in this week’s episode! 

Check out this episode’s show note page (www.thrivewithspectrum.com) for links to the resources we mentioned and more information on what we discussed in today’s episode! Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram, @Thrivewithsp on Twitter, and @Thrivewithspectrum on Facebook! 
 

Episode 43: The Thrive Parent's Bill of Rights

In this week’s episode of Tube to Table, Jennifer and Heidi are discussing the Thrive Parent’s Bill of Rights. You may have seen this in a recent blog post at Thrive, but during this episode Jennifer and Heidi will dive into more detail and walk through each crucial step in the Bill of Rights. This was created by the Thrive Tube Weaning Team for any feeding therapy, not just tube weaning, although it especially applies to children with feeding tubes. This is an important tool to help remind parents to listen to their intuition and guide them through what feeding therapy should look like. If something feels wrong, it is important to identify that feeling and address that with your therapist. The Thrive Bill of Rights is a good reminder for parents that your protective intuition is there for a reason, and if it feels wrong, it is worth exploring more. Jennifer and Heidi will break down the Bill of Rights and outline why it is so important for families to be a part of therapy and feel confident in their decisions. 

Check out this episode’s show note page (www.thrivewithspectrum.com) for links to the resources we mentioned and more information on what we discussed in today’s episode! Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram, @Thrivewithsp on Twitter, and @Thrivewithspectrum on Facebook! 
 

Episode 42: The Measurement Trap

On this week’s episode of Tube To Table, Jennifer is joined by Jamie Hinchey, a member of the Tube Weaning program at Thrive. Jennifer and Jamie are talking about the measurement trap and how families can easily get caught up in it. Many families get stuck measuring progress with numbers, graphs, charts, and logs, rather than looking at their child and focusing on the responsive mealtimes. This is one of the most common difficulties that we see while working with families after an intensive tube wean. Letting go of the numbers is deeply embedded in the entire process that parents go through while weaning their child from a feeding tube. It is so hard to let go of strict measuring, but it is also a crucial part in building a confident and competent eater. Jennifer and Jamie will discuss why it is important to shift towards more responsive strategies, and how to identify success without focusing on the numbers. 

Check out this episode’s show note page (www.thrivewithspectrum.com) for links to the resources we mentioned and more information on what we discussed in today’s episode! Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram, @Thrivewithsp on Twitter, and @Thrivewithspectrum on Facebook!

Episode 41: A Parent's Perspective: Joe's Story

Welcome back to another episode of the Tube to Table podcast! We are continuing our “Parent’s Perspective” series with Joe’s story. On this week’s episode, Heidi sat down with Maggie, Joe’s mom who participated in the Thrive Intensive Tube Weaning Program at their home in Nashville. Maggie and Heidi talk through Joe’s history including his medical complications that led to the feeding tube, past therapy approaches, and how they ended up at Thrive. You’ll also hear Maggie talk more about what she learned about herself and about Joe during the process, as well as some of her favorite memories of Joe learning to eat. Every child’s journey throughout the Thrive program is different and unique, but Maggie talks about how this process helped her learn to trust Joe and build the confidence that he could be a happy and healthy eater!

Check out this episode’s show note page (www.thrivewithspectrum.com) for links to the resources we mentioned and more information on what we discussed in today’s episode! Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram, @Thrivewithsp on Twitter, and @Thrivewithspectrum on Facebook!

Episode 40: There's No Place Like Home

On this week’s episode of the Tube to Table podcast, Heidi and Jennifer are talking about the “where” of tube weaning. Where should tube weaning take place? What are the pros and cons to different weaning settings? They’ll answer all of your questions and talk through the important factors to consider when making a choice for your child’s tube wean.  At Thrive, we believe children should be weaned at home whenever possible, but that may not always be possible for some families. Different settings include hospitals, clinics, or through remote treatment. This can be an overwhelming decision for many families, but this is one of the most important factors to really look into. This week’s episode will go through all of the upsides and downsides of different settings to help families make the decision for themselves. 

Check out this episode’s show note page (www.thrivewithspectrum.com) for links to the resources we mentioned and more information on what we discussed in today’s episode! Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram, @Thrivewithsp on Twitter, and @Thrivewithspectrum on Facebook!

Episode 39: A Parent’s Perspective: Noelle’s Story

Welcome back to another episode of Tube to Table! We are so excited to have another episode as part of our “Parent’s Perspective” series. This week we are joined by Jessica & Chris, whose daughter, Noelle, went through the Thrive Tube Weaning Program a few months ago. Jessica and Chris are sharing their story with Heidi, the clinical coordinator of the program and Noelle’s therapist during her wean! Throughout this episode, you’ll learn more about Noelle’s history, what feeding therapy looked like for the first 5 years, and how her parents found Thrive. Noelle’s parents share their perspective on the intensive program including their experience while traveling to Nashville, Noelle’s amazing progress, and what they learned throughout the process. They will also share advice they have for families of tube-fed children who are either just leaving the NICU, just received a feeding tube, or ready to wean! 

Check out this episode’s show note page (www.thrivewithspectrum.com) for links to the resources we mentioned and more information on what we discussed in today’s episode! Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram, @Thrivewithsp on Twitter, and @Thrivewithspectrum on Facebook!