Food Allergies and Pediatric Feeding Therapy (Ruffrage - Live Interactive Webinar)

Course overview

Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) is defined as impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction. Food allergy is a complex immune disorder caused by specific genetic variants in combination with environmental and nutritional exposures, that falls under the medical domain of PFD and can directly impact the nutritional, feeding skill, and psychosocial domains of PFD. It is estimated that 33 million Americans have food allergies. 1 in 13 children have food allergies and an estimated 40% of those children have experienced a severe reaction. Professionals working with children with PFD must be up to date on the current recommendations on the introduction of solids (for those with and without familial history of food allergy), have a foundational knowledge of the various types and clinical signs and how food allergies can directly impact oral motor development, feeding skill acquisition, and nutrition. Speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists working with children with PFD are in a unique position to help mitigate the negative impacts that food allergies can have and increase the quality of life of both the child and the whole family unit.