SOS Therapy
Admin
December 19, 2022
Communikare’s SOS Therapy
The Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) feeding strategy incorporates motor, oral,
behavioral/learning, medical, sensory, and nutritional elements and approaches in order to
evaluate and manage children with feeding/growth difficulties thoroughly. The SOS feeding
treatment method is based on children’s usual developmental feeding processes, stages, and
skills.
The SOS technique can be implemented in a variety of settings, including individual feeding
therapy, group feeding therapy, and home programming with check-ins and/or follow-ups.
In order to improve your children’s connection with food and mealtime, it is important to
keep mealtime as positive and structured as possible.
The SOS Approach to Feeding is an evaluation and treatment approach for children with
feeding issues. This programme blends sensory, motor, oral, behavioral/learning, medical,
and nutritional elements and techniques in order to evaluate and manage children with
feeding/growth difficulties thoroughly. It is based on and philosophically grounded on the
“natural” developmental processes, stages, and eating skills found in children with typical
development.
The SOS Approach focuses on enhancing a child’s comfort with food through exploration
and education about its various qualities. This feeding programme allows a child to interact
with food in a playful, non-stressful manner, beginning with the ability to tolerate food in
the room and in front of them, then managing the smell of the foods, learning about how
foods feel on the body and in the mouth, and finally enjoying tasting and eating new foods
according to the Steps to Eating.
Utilizing these typical developmental steps towards feeding, the treatment component of the
programme creates a systematic desensitisation hierarchy of skills/behaviors necessary for
children to progress with eating various textures and growing at an appropriate rate.
Child’s Play feeding therapists believe in providing children with feeding issues with a
happy and enjoyable setting. They work closely with families to establish attainable goals
and provide them with the means to achieve them.
SOS Feeding Therapy
1.Family Meals
- The objective is to increase the quantity of food ingested, particularly among our
children with nutritional and growth difficulties. Here are some emergency feeding
and lunchtime recommendations for the house! - Serve the meal at a predetermined time at the family table with other family
members present to serve as positive role models. Place family-style bowls in the
centre of the table for everyone to serve themselves, which encourages children to be
active participants at the table and gives them autonomy over how much of each
food they put on their plate. - One “law” of family meals is that everyone must be served at least one spoonful or
piece of food, although they are not required to consume it. Instead, kids can choose
to “learn” about it, such as its origin, texture, smell, and colour. - Family meals must contain at least one food that you know your child will eat, i.e. a
preferred food; the purpose of this meal is to introduce your child to “non”-preferred
foods while maintaining the volume of consumption through liked foods. - If your child is tube-fed, consider administering the feeding at this time to build a
connection between mealtimes and feeling full. - Adults should focus on being effective social role models during mealtimes by
describing the flavour of the dish in detail - The child should not be the focal point of the meal, but praise should be offered for
any good attempts at eating or exploring by sight, smell, touch, taste, or eating - Establish a pattern for cleanup: when the meal is over, have everyone remove any
remaining food from their plate and place it in a “goodbye” bowl or trash can
2. Therapy Meals
- Typically, therapy meals are prepared with an SOS feeding professional and then
taken home. The purpose of a therapy dinner is to explore new cuisines in a
pleasurable manner! - The quantity consumed is less crucial and can be done outside of mealtimes, as the
objective is to develop skills and gain experience, not to eat. - Using systematic desensitisation the use of competing relaxation responses during
exposure to a graduated hierarchy of stimuli known to produce anxiety. i.e. food,
social modelling, and positive reinforcement children are encouraged to try new
foods and extend their dietary repertoire.
Kindly contact us for more information about the SOS feeding method or to schedule an
evaluation with one of our SOS-trained therapists.
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