Tag: feeding therapy
Therapists at Schreiber Went Above and Beyond to Help My Son Thrive: A Personal Testimonial
February 27, 2024Written by: Schreiber Client Brayden’s Mom, Alicia Earnesty
Brayden has been attending therapy at Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development for over 5 years now. As a medically complex child, Brayden has many diagnosis and challenges including intractable epilepsy(LGS) and cortical visual impairment. He first began receiving PT, OT, Speech, Feeding and Aqua therapy as we desperately searched for ways to help. He was unable to hold his head up, bare weight, sit up, functional use his hands or share any form of communication.
The amazing therapist at Schreiber immediately began to create a plan. His team has went above and beyond to research, learn other strategies and implement accommodations to help him thrive. The begin years were a true struggle to make progress in the midst of survival mode between hospitalizations and seizures. Covid hit which forced us to pivot to virtual therapy for 2 years working remotely from our basement therapy room. The amazing therapist never gave up and little by little we celebrated Brayden’s inch stones. We celebrated sitting on his own, sit to stand, learning to crawl, standing with support, utilizing both hands, grabbing/holding objects, pointing, saying his first words, making choices and using a communication device. Brayden underwent several brain surgeries over the years and the therapist never skipped a beat to help him rehab, bounce back and make leaps of progress.
Looking back upon all the years of intensive therapy, it brings joyful tears to our eyes as to how far Brayden has come. Today, Brayden is a walking talking miracle and true representation to never give up hope. Brayden can voice, sign and use his adapted communication device to share what he is thinking, needing and even what he doesn’t want. Brayden can now eat foods by mouth and working so hard on independent fine motor skills. Brayden can now independently walk, go up/down stairs, squat to pick up items, and even run!
Brayden waves and squeals with excitement on therapy days. We love calling “the duck duck place” (as Brayden calls it) home as Schreiber has become family and we are forever grateful for the staff and therapists. Thank you to Lisa, Maddy, Rebecca, Libby, Deanna, Meghan, Sarah, Christen, Adrian and so many more for your impact on his journey. To other families looking for the supports your child needs, Schreiber is the BEST in the area hands down. Partnering with them and continuing to implement at home, the sky is the limit!
Help Schreiber Clients like Brayden receive the care they need, consider donating in support of our Kids’ Care Fund, a long and short term savings account used to cover the costs of uncompensated care.
As a nationally recognized pediatric facility, the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development provides family-centered education and therapy programs for infants, children and adolescents with disabilities, developmental delays, and acquired injuries. Our goal-oriented approach maximizes each child’s ability to function independently within the community.
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How Schreiber Transformed Our Son’s Feeding Challenges: A Personal Testimonial
January 30, 2024Written by: Schreiber Client Finn’s Mom, Danielle Gwilt
Our son Finn was diagnosed with food allergies shortly after his first birthday, and a chronic digestive condition called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) about a year after that. Due to allergies and discomfort due to EoE, feeding Finn was a challenge pretty quickly after he began solid foods. He was incredibly reluctant to try or even touch new foods or drinks. Finn started occupational therapy, prior to coming to Schreiber, at 18 months for these feeding aversions and sensory issues. While this initial round of OT helped us to learn about Finn’s sensory needs, we made no progress at all with his eating and decided to stop the therapy. We were then referred to a speech therapist outside of the Schreiber Center to see if they could help. After about a year of visits with them, while Finn had made minor progress, they felt we didn’t have anything new to try and we were discharged from their care.
During a visit with his nutritionist around Finn’s third birthday we were discussing his ongoing feeding issues and she recommended that we reach out to the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development. She recommended we try to see Sarah Terry specifically if she was available, as she had heard Sarah was especially good with strong-willed, picky eaters. We quickly realized how right she was! A few months after Finn turned 3 we had our evaluation and acceptance into Schreiber’s OT program, and were lucky enough to get a slot in Sarah’s schedule.
At the time of our admission, Finn (3 years old) was drinking from a bottle only, would only drink oat milk, and refused every type of cup offered. He was only eating 8-10 foods with regularity. He was also still eating baby food purees every day as one of his main foods. Our initial goals with Schreiber were to get Finn to try new foods, add new foods into his diet as regularly accepted foods, and to drink out of anything other than a bottle.
Initially, Finn was very reluctant to attending therapy, likely because he had been through other programs. What Schreiber offers is so different from anywhere else we had been. Schreiber allows for kids to make their own choices (toys they want to play with, a certain apparatus they may want to try, etc.) while still working toward the child’s goals and setting clear boundaries. Finn quickly warmed up to Schreiber and to Sarah due to the fun atmosphere and the incredible patience and understanding she showed while working with us. Sarah employed a wide array of play-based OT to entice Finn to try new foods. He was able to get the needed sensory input to his body by jumping and climbing in the large OT room before moving to a smaller room for therapy. Sarah would spend time playing with toys, games, painting, etc. in exchange for Finn touching, playing with, and eventually tasting the new foods.
Sarah took the time to get to know Finn and his interests and form a true relationship with him. She made his appointments fun and silly, all while working towards his goals. She was never visibly frustrated with him, even through some incredibly frustrating visits where he would flat-out refuse to cooperate. And she celebrated each win with us – no matter how small. Her positive and good-natured attitude made returning each week a pleasure, rather than the chore that therapy can often feel like. Sarah gave us suggestions on foods to try, ways to make slight alterations to foods to get him to accept new things, and a ton of tools to use at home as well.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention Lisa at the front desk! She always welcomed our family with a smile and would greet Finn by name within just a few short weeks of his attending Schreiber. She truly assists in making Schreiber feel welcoming from the time you walk in the front door.
The progress Finn made through our time at Schreiber is truly remarkable. His willingness to try new foods, and to try foods more than once, has grown exponentially. He has a much larger catalog of widely accepted foods he’ll eat on a routine basis. He no longer drinks out of a bottle and will drink more than just one type of drink.
There are no words to express how much Schreiber positively impacted our lives. We are forever grateful to Sarah and the team at Schreiber for all they did for us and would highly recommend them to anyone whose child needs assistance!
Help Schreiber Clients like Finn receive the care they need, consider donating in support of our Kids’ Care Fund, a long and short term savings account used to cover the costs of uncompensated care.
As a nationally recognized pediatric facility, the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development provides family-centered education and therapy programs for infants, children and adolescents with disabilities, developmental delays, and acquired injuries. Our goal-oriented approach maximizes each child’s ability to function independently within the community.