If your child is a picky eater, how do you know when it’s developmentally appropriate or if it is a more complex issue such as a pediatric feeding disorder?
Most pediatric practitioners may not understand the full scope of picky eating and will often take a “wait-and-see” approach to your child’s eating issues. In addition, they typically don’t know about potential underlying causes of complex picky eating and pediatric feeding disorders.
What Is Complex Picky Eating?
Parents and practitioners should consider that a child may have complex picky eating or a feeding disorder if picky eating behavior:
- Consistently creates a quality-of-life issue for the child and/or family
- Persists beyond toddler-to-preschool age years
- Is self-limited to eating less than 20 different foods
- Causes refusal of certain food textures or nutritional groups entirely
Complex picky eating is common in children with conditions such as:
- Autism
- ADHD
- Down syndrome
- Learning disabilities
- Developmental delays
- Sensory Processing Disorder
- PANS/PANDAS
- Dyspraxia/apraxia
- Speech and language issues
Complex picky eating may be due to any or all of the following conditions:
- Sensory processing issues that cause hypersensitivity to tastes, smells, appearances or textures
- Oral-motor issues
- Tongue tie
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Hypotonia (low muscle tone)
- Gastrointestinal issues such as acid reflux
- Blood-sugar dysregulation
Join us as one of the leaders in complex picky eating, Shandy Laskey, educates about this issue and what parents and practitioners can do to help these children overcome it.
Please note that you will be asked to provide your email address to continue watching the video at the 30-minute mark.
About Shandy Laskey MA CCC-SLP FNTP
Shandy is an integrative speech-language pathologist and pediatric feeding specialist, as well as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Epidemic Answers Health Coach and the Director of Community Development for Epidemic Answers.
She is a fierce nutrition advocate for children impacted by complex picky eating, neurodevelopmental disorders, and special needs.
She is continuously advancing her knowledge in functional and bio-individual nutrition therapies for these specific demographics of children.
Shandy is the founder and CEO of Speaking of Health & Wellness, LLC.
Through her own health and wellness journey, she learned the profound impact of nutrition and lifestyle on cognition and overall well-being first hand. Shandy has an intense passion for integrating holistic nutrition and lifestyle strategies into her work with families.
She provides virtual and local parent coaching to guide families on identifying ways to address the underlying causes of their child’s condition and/or related symptoms, while also teaching integrative strategies for learning, behavior, communication and mealtimes. Read more about Shandy’s story and work at: www.speakingofhealthandwellness.com
Disclaimer
This webinar is not a substitute for medical advice, treatment, diagnosis, or consultation with a medical professional. It is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on to make determinations related to treatment of a medical condition. Epidemic Answers has not verified and does not guaranty the accuracy of the information provided in this webinar.
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Resources
Books
Bahr, Diane. Nobody Ever Told Me (or my Mother) That!: Everything from Bottles and Breathing to Healthy Speech Development. Sensory World, 2010.
Ernsperger, Lori, et al. Just Take a Bite: Easy, Effective Answers to Food Aversions and Eating Challenges! Future Horizons, 2004.
Articles
Why We Don’t Use the ARFID Diagnosis
Websites
Speaking of Health and Wellness
