Establishment of an Interdisciplinary Pediatric Oral-Motor-Sensory Feeding Clinic Team

Abstract

This article presents a description of a university-based Pediatric Oral-Motor Feeding Clinic established in response to concerns from parents in the local community regarding accessibility of resources and expertise in the area of pediatric feeding disorders. We outline how one group of professionals in a rural area, with limited resources, organized the interdisciplinary feeding clinic and discussed the process of creating the clinic, the administrative and personnel considerations, and training issues. The feeding clinic follows a model of interdisciplinary assessment, and culturally competent, family-centered, community-based practice and training. The development of this Clinic-facilitated care to community families who otherwise would have to travel more than 80 miles for an evaluation. The clinic team includes a developmental pediatrician, a nurse, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a registered dietitian, and a speech-language pathologist. Families are the center of the evaluation. In addition to the formation of a clinic, changes in university curriculum in the departments Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education and Psychology have ensued. Involvement in the USU Feeding Clinic prepares students from a variety of disciplines to work with children who have oral-motor/sensory feeding difficulties.