Do you have a picky eater? Let Munchie Monkey help!

Munchie will happily eat anything, which will help encourage your picky eater to try new things. Munchie takes a bite, your picky eater takes a bite.

Getting Munchie to eat is simple:

1. Take a picture of some food.
2. Draw a path on the food that you'd like Munchie to follow.
3. Shake the phone for Munchie to take a bite.

Your little one will be rewarded as Munchie eats the food to reveal a fun Munchie plate.

Does your picky eater take too long to eat? Munchie has a timer mode that can be used to time goals from 1 to 45 minutes. Simply set the timer and Munchie will finish eating within the allotted time. Your little one can see exactly how much time is left by how much Munchie has eaten.

So, stop struggling to get your picky eater to eat. Let Munchie help now!

Miles for Miracles: Let's Support Brittany!

Help us Support Brittany in the upcoming Boston Marathon on April 16th!

"I'm fundraising for this event because I believe so strongly in all the good things Children's Hospital Boston does for kids. Its patient care programs are unusually sensitive to what sick and injured children and their families really need. Its researchers regularly make amazing discoveries that change children's lives. It welcomes kids whose families can't afford health care-more than any other hospital in Massachusetts. It makes a point of reaching out to local communities to help low-income and at-risk kids. And it really gets the importance of training the next generation of top pediatricians and nurses."

"Helping children and their families is a significant part of my everyday life. I work to help children achieve their utmost potential, as a Speech-Language Pathologist, at Chatterboxes Pediatric Speech Language Pathology, in Newton Center, MA."

"Thank you in advance for visiting my fundraising page below! I greatly appreciate your support in helping me achieve my fundraising goal."
-Brittany Boyle, M.S., CCC-SLP

To learn more about this event, or to make a donation, please visit Brittany's page by clicking on the below link:

http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/page/Brittany-Boyle.htm

10-Step Plan for Improving Nutrition & Feeding for Children with Autism

1)Transition to a healthy diet:
Avoid food additives, pesticides, refined sugars, processed foods, and trans fats

2)Get enough basic nutrients
Water
Macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, fat
Micronutrients: fat soluble vitamins, water soluble vitamins

3)Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement
Contains 100-300% RDA of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), vitamin B complex (B1, B2, B3,B5, B6, B12, folic acid, biotin), vitamin C, minerals (calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, manganese, chromium, molybdenum)

Avoid multivitamins that have artificial colors and flavors, potential allergens (wheat, milk, soy, egg, corn), and herbs

4)Increase Omega-3 fatty acid
By eating fish and other foods that contain Omega-3 and/or with a supplement
Recommended intake of EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids:
1-3 years old: 390mg/day
4-6 years old: 540mg/day
7 years and older: 650mg/day

5)Improve feeding problems
Enroll in the feeding therapy program if:
Restricted repertoire of foods (less than 20 foods)
Foods lost from diet due to burnout, and foods not regained into the diet
Persistent refusal of novel foods
Refusal of entire food texture groups
Adds new foods only after greater than 25 exposures

6)Heal the gut
Signs of gastrointestinal (GI) disorder include abdominal pain, bloating, gaseousness, diarrhea, constipation, reflux, vomiting, food refusal, limited variety of foods, mealtime tantrums, irritability, self abuse, sleep disturbances
Treat by modifying the diet, eliminating problematic foods, and/or taking supplements, including probiotics, antifungals, digestive enzymes, therapeutic levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, and glutamine

7)Identify food allergies and implement treatment
Foods responsible for 90% of allergic reactions include milk, wheat, soy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish

8)Try an elimination diet
Most popular is the Gluten Casein Free Diet (GFCF)

9)Try high dose vitamin B6 with magnesium
Recommended dosage:
8mg of B6 per pound of child's body weight
3-4mg of magnesium per pound of child's body weight

10)Consider additional supplements
To enhance immune system: dimethylglycine (DMG), iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, vitamins A, C, D, and E
To enhance cognitive function: carnitine, choline, coenzyme Q10, iron, zinc, ginkgo biloba
To enhance detoxification system: alpha-lipoic acid, glutathione, N-acetylcysteine, selenium, trimethylglycine (TMG), vitamin C, milk thistle

-Elizabeth Strickland

CHATTERBOXES PRESENTS APPROACH TO FEEDING SERVICES AT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL BOSTON:

Outpatient Eating Disorders Program: Division of Adolescent Medicine

July 27, 2011

On behalf of The Feeding Group at Chatterboxes, Megan Rozantes, M.S., CCC-SLP was recently invited to present to the team members of the Outpatient Eating Disorders Program at Children’s Hospital Boston. Team members in attendance included physicians, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and social workers from the division of Adolescent Medicine.

An overview of Chatterboxes approach to Feeding Evaluations and Feeding Therapy was provided, along with discussions about Common Referral Criterion, Red Flags indicative of a Feeding Disorder and specific treatment approaches, including the AEIOU approach.

Children’s Hospital Team members were provided with extensive collateral materials for reference purposes. Such materials included example Evaluation Reports, detailed strategies and recommendations for parents of children struggling with feeding issues, common referral criterion, and feeding developmental milestones.

Many times parents of young children struggling with a range of feeding concerns, (varying from ‘picky eaters’ to children with severe sensory, behavioral and/or motor based issues) do not know where to turn for help. Many parents are not aware that Speech-Language Pathologists can provide assistance and treatment for a Feeding Disorder. The Feeding Group’s presentation was a positive measure to help such parents uncover the correct professionals for help

Modify the Mealtime Environment: Feeding Strategies

Modify the Mealtime Environment

The structure of the mealtime environment can have a major impact on a child's eating behavior. Overall, strive for a positive environment that is predictable and supportive. To optimize the environment, consider implementing the following:

• Schedule regular meals for the family. Have everyone remain seated at the table for the duration of the meal.

• Avoid grazing. Offer only water between meals and snacks. This will support a regular hunger-satiation pattern and may help lead to increased daily food consumption.

• Minimize auditory and visual distractions at mealtime by turning the television off and keeping toys away from the table.

• Try limiting meals to 30 minutes and snacks to 10-15 minutes.

• Do not rush through meals. Your child may need extra time given their developing self-feeding skills.

• Mealtime is meant to be a social experience. Talk with your child about the food you are eating, ask him questions about his day, or discuss his favorite things.

• Be sure that your child's seating allows free use of hands to encourage self-feeding.

• Model positive feeding behaviors for your child throughout the meal.

Chatterboxes Welcomes Dana Gudell, M.S., CCC-SLP

April 1, 2011

Dana’s gentle confidence, strong pediatric clinical knowledge base via her pediatric specific experience and inherent ability to bond with children is apparent in all interactions with her patients and their families.

Through her position at Clinical Associates of the Finger Lakes, in New York, Dana provided early intervention and preschool speech and language services to children in their homes, schools and daycares. By providing home-based services, Dana worked directly with parents and caregivers to increase the success and carryover of her patient’s goals. Dana endorses consistent collaboration with other professionals, including occupational therapists, physical therapists and psychologists as being paramount toward achieving the best possible outcome for her patients and families.

In addition to her birth-five clinical experience, Dana has also provided therapy to the school-age population in a suburban school district in New York. Her school-based efforts centered on children from kindergarten through eighth grade with a focus on articulation, expressive & receptive language and phonemic awareness skills, as well as children with auditory processing concerns and Autism spectrum disorders.

Dana graduated with honors from Nazareth College in Rochester, New York with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Nazareth College. Dana’s academic accolades include entry to the Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, awarding of the Florence Sweeney Scholarship, receipt of the Trustee Scholarship, as well as consistent Dean’s List distinction.

Dana resides in Natick, MA with her husband, Marc. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, and cooking.

Chatterboxes is honored to have Dana on our clinical team. Her admirable personal and therapeutic qualities as well as her professionalism serve as a direct extension of Chatterboxes’ core values.

Dana can be reached via our main phone at 617-969-TALK (8255) or via email at dana@teamchatterboxes.com.

Tips for Managing Picky Eaters!

Mealtime Struggles

Many parents experience the woes of picky eating at some point in their child's development. A child's negative eating behavior can adversely affect the mealtime experience and have a detrimental effect on the child's health and development.
Try these tips:

•When introducing a new food, encourage interaction with the food in a less invasive way by gradually progressing through the following levels: tolerating on the table/plate, touching, smelling, kissing, licking, biting, chewing, and swallowing.

•Introduce an "all done" bowl. Don’t allow your child to leave the table until all of the food on his plate is either ingested or interacted with (pick up, kiss, lick, etc.) and placed into the all done bowl.

•Use a timer or visual schedule to encourage your child to stay at the table for the duration of the meal.

•Ignore any negative mealtime behaviors. This includes verbal protesting, pushing foods away, letting food fall to the floor, etc. Use timeouts when necessary in the event of disruptive mealtime behaviors.

•Continue offering new foods many times, even if the foods were refused in the past. Be patient and persistent.