8th Annual Jubilee: Conference on Practice
Session F-5

Trina Schulz, MS, OTR/L is currently the Manager of the Occupational Therapy department at the University of Kansas Hospital.  She is a graduate of the University of Kansas Occupational Therapy program, with 25 years of experience as a pediatric occupational therapist.  Trina’s passion is working with children with traumatic or chronic conditions that effect feeding and motor development.  Trina has been a member of the interdisciplinary Feeding Clinic at KU Hospital, since 1991, where she uses evidence-based practice to evaluates feeding readiness, feeding safety and developing intervention plans to advance a child’s feeding. 

Brief Summary:
The development of oral feeding skills will be discussed related to age, and sequencing of skill development.  Safety of oral feeding will be examined, when to recommend advancement or alternatives to oral feeding.  Case studies and videotape will be used. 

Oral feeding skills develop in a specific developmental sequence at specific ages.  When feeding concerns are present it is important to recognize safety precautions as well as potential interventions for improving/advancing a child’s feeding skills.

Objectives:

1. The participants will become familiar with the developmental sequence of oral feeding skills.
2. The participants will be able to identify safety concerns for feeding, and understand possible recommendations for alternatives for feeding.
3. The participants will be able to identify some strategies for advancement of oral feeding.