Nutrition - Creative Speech Therapy NYC

What is holistic treatment and is it important for speech & feeding therapy?

Rachael Rose — Wed, 01 May 2024 16:55:41 +0000

What is Holistic Treatment and is it Important for Speech & Feeding Therapy?

“Holistic” has become quite the buzzword in medical spheres the past few years. And though it may be plain to most what holistic care means, what does a holistic provider actually stand for? Specifically. Is it just a an elevated word people throw around to convey trendiness? Is it important? Does it matter when it comes to your child’s speech or feeding therapy? How is it different from “non-holistic” or naturopathic care?

What is it?

Well here is what holistic does NOT mean:

deficient
fragmentary
incomplete
partial
abbreviated
reduced
scattered

Thus, the term holistic conveys completeness. Methods may vary, but what stays consistent from provider to provider, is the focus on the big picture.

“The terms holistic or holism refers to considering the whole person, problem, or idea. In health care, holistic treatments take the whole person into account, not just his or her symptoms. Thus, the opposite of a holistic treatment approach to a patient would be purely symptoms-based approach, and a single symptom or small set of symptoms at that.” – Mayfield Clinic

Because holistic refers to an approach, rather than the instruments used, it could indicate naturopathic (Eastern, alternative, self-healing, etc) methods or more allopathic (Western, conventional, and orthodox, etc). Whether they follow Western or Eastern techniques, the provider can still use a holistic approach. A provider who treats holistically will tend to focus on all the following aspects of their clients:

physical
emotional
spirital
cultural
familial
environmental

A holistic practitioner sees all of these categories as valid, connected, and integral to healing and progress. A practitioner less concerned with holism (treating someone holistically) will tend to focus on one aspect of a person or the symptoms alone.

Is it important?

Marymount University published an article discussing the importance of holistic care in nursing:

helps de-stigmatize mental health care
honors the body’s natural healing intelligence
respects cultural differences and traditional healing methods
teaches the value of preventative health
decreases the use of invasive procedures
sheds light on economic, social and political barriers in health
empowers practitioners to bring their humanity to health care

While holistic care may come at a higher financial rate, garner a longer wait list, or simply be harder to find in a small town, it is worth the effort. Holistic practitioners care deeply about lasting results and the experience of their clients.

Holistic speech & feeding therapy

“Holistic practices are becoming more mainstream because integrative medicine address the full spectrum that makes up being human, giving people a wider reach for care” says, Avalon Malibu.

Clients who need speech or feeding therapy are rarely only receiving one kind of service, or even the same kind of service from only one provider. They typically have a team of dedicated professionals working to help them close the gap of their skills and the skills of same aged peers. Communication between these providers is integral to holistic care. Though technique and method may vary from service to service, goals should be in tune and harmonious for the client to progress.

A real life example can be seen in a client with a speech disorder and dysphagia (difficulty or discomfort in swallowing). This client’s speech therapist will need to:

take into account the support this client has at home for family meals and speech homework
research cultural sensitivities when it comes to menu planning for feeding therapy
communicate with the client’s occupational and/or physical therapist and teachers for sensory and school support
understand the financial limits of the family and how to make the most of the time they can afford (this could mean parent support through phone call check-ins if they cannot afford to come several times a week)
be in tune with the child’s mood and emotional intelligence in a session to provide them with positive experience

This process, though timely, is holistic care. It is all encompassing and leads to lasting results.

Creative Speech Therapy NYC providers are committed to this approach for all their families. Whether a client has a whole team of private practice doctors, therapists, and family members at their side, or a more limited support system – they are treated thoroughly and with care.

Sources

Written by: Jane Wright, Office Manager/Marketing

The post What is holistic treatment and is it important for speech & feeding therapy? first appeared on Creative Speech Therapy NYC.

Stress Free Meals in 2024

Rachael Rose — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 17:41:30 +0000

Stress Free Meals in 2024

Making new year’s resolutions this year? Improving stressful mealtimes at home are a great addition to the list of things you want to improve. And guess what? Its absolutely possible. Here are my top four tips to make this year run more smoothly for your family and especially your picky eaters.

1. Encourage mealtime and snacks at a scheduled time each day

We typically encourage children to eat three meals and two snacks a day. We also like for these times to be spaced out by two hours. When we keep mealtimes consistent everyday, it helps our children’s bodies to regulate around food. They can feel hunger cues and then satiation cues. These are lifelong skills that will help them develop a healthy relationship with food.

2. Introduce a transition activity before mealtime

We have busy lives and our days are full; however, when we eat a meal we should try to shed that stress and sit down to a calm table. Using transitions is a very helpful way to alert your children that they are going to do a new activity and also a great way to separate the stress of the day from mealtimes. I often suggest to parents to give a five minute warning to kids before the meal, have children help set the table, and wash their hands before sitting down to the table. Rituals like this are important because we can do them with little thinking – they allow our minds to rest. In feeding therapy, we use songs during transitions as well. You could make a family mealtime song or simply turn on calming and soft music to signal it’s mealtime.

3. All members of the family should sit at the table together

This is a hard one due to our busy schedules, but it’s an important aspect of feeding for your children. There is significant research to show that children eat more and eat better when they are eating with their family members. Kids want to please their parents and they want approval. Eating together builds trust between parent and child as well. This is another way to prevent picky eating. Think about what changes you can make in your home to make it more pleasurable for everyone. This is where thinking about nourishment and nutrition come in to play. You don’t want to get into a battle with your children at mealtimes. It makes you both feel frustrated and can cause feelings of anxiety in your children. They don’t want to feel that they are disappointing you – help set them up for success!

4. Family meals should be served to all members of the family sitting at the table

It is the adult’s job to set the menu and decide what the family will eat at the meal. That said, you should always provide at least one food that your child willingly eats. Imagine you sat down at a restaurant and you start to peruse the menu. You see nothing that you like on the menu. Are you going to stay at the table and order non-preferred foods? Probably not. Imagine if you look at the menu and see a dish that contains one thing you like and one thing you don’t like. You are more likely to order the dish and you may even pick at and try that food you “don’t like”. That’s what it’s like for your child when they sit down at the table and are served some preferred foods and non-preferred foods.

Members in your family may have different favorites and that’s okay. What is important is that everyone be offered all the foods on the table. When we limit the foods we serve to only preferred foods, the child doesn’t even have the opportunity to try a new food. Exposure to new foods gives your children the “opportunity” rather than a “demand.” Even better, if you serve food family style on platters, kids have to pass a non-preferred food from one family member to another, and they will smell it. That’s exposure!

Written by: Rachael Rose, Owner/Founder

The post Stress Free Meals in 2024 first appeared on Creative Speech Therapy NYC.

Picky Eaters & Meal Prep

Rachael Rose — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:17:55 +0000

Picky Eaters & Meal Prep

In May we partnered with Elia of, Feed Your Sister, to chat all things picky eating and meal prep. Elia is a meal prep GENIUS! She has piles of knowledge and resources for you and your family. She offers in-home services, online courses, and downloads to promote self-care through meal prep, kitchen organization, and healthy stress free meals. We loved chatting with her and adding in our theraputic knowledge of picky eaters to her experience with meal preparation. We are so excited to share that conversation, summed up below (in blog form!)

Preparing meals in advance is a wonderful way to help your picky eater. When food is ready to serve at mealtime, the stress of cooking evaporates and leaves you time to connect with your child and have a family meal. The importance of family meals cannot be overstated. Picky eaters benefit from eating together as a family in several ways:

Developing mealtime conversational skills will carry over into schooltime lunches and help your little one learn more social skills. It will also get them ready to eat at restaurants and in new environments.
Learning self-feeding and utensil use, especially when your child is transitioning to solids, is foundational to their comfortability in eating as they grow. Just watching you eat is a great example for them to imitate.
Mindful eating will become their go-to. Mindless eating, with an iPad or TV to distract them, can lead to worse picky eating and obesity.

So, you have your prepared meal ready to go, family assembled, table set…how can you make the family meal as productive as possible for your picky little one?

Expose them to new foods by serving items on platters and showing them what you’re eating. Even if they don’t eat the same thing as you during the meal, exposure to new food is a great step in expanding their diet. Platters can be a great tool when they are passed around the table. The exposure of seeing, smelling, and touching new foods in a safe environment will help them build up their resolve to try something new! The more exposure the better.
Have an “all done” bowl on the table. This will not only help with mess, but it will eliminate their chance to escape the meal if they don’t want to eat something. They can simply place something in the bowl and move on to something else. You can use the bowl too!
Use dips! If your child likes a dip such as ketchup, BBQ sauce, or ranch, it can help them try a new food by masking it with a flavor they know and like already.
Remember that not all foods may be safe for little ones with structural issues. If your child is struggling to transition to solids, they may need to see a feeding therapist to uncover why. When kids lack the skills needed to eat a specific texture, they quickly learn that food is “unsafe.” Kids spit out unsafe foods and will most likely refuse that food in the future. Parents often confuse spitting out foods as picky eating, but it is actually an anti-choking protective mechanism. Once your baby gains the necessary skills to safely chew and swallow a texture of food, you can safely re-introduce that food into your child’s/baby’s diet.

Our values go hand in hand with the values of Feed Your Sister. We want mealtimes to be less stressful, which Elia does via meal prep and we do it with feeding therapy. But the goal is having a healthy and joyful relationship with food no matter what! Family meals are one of the most important foundations you can build for a positive lifelong relationship with food and eating. It’s never too early to eat as a family.

For kid-friendly recipes and meal ideas, check out Elia’s Prep & Party: Baby & Toddler Edition replay. And definitely add her naked turkey pesto meatballs and miso maple chicken to your next meal plan. Both recipes are always a hit for the entire family!

If you struggle with meal planning for your picky eaters, drop in to the next Prep & Party with Elia. And be sure to follow her on social media to catch all the newest updates to Feed Your Sister

Written by: Rachael Rose, Owner/Found of Creative Speech Therapy NYC and Elia Wolberger of Feed Your Sister

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New Year, New Smoo!

Rachael Rose — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 23:06:16 +0000

New Year, New Smoo!

Looking for a way to get calories AND tons of fruits & veggies in your baby’s belly? The answer is SMOOTHIES! I love them because they are delicious, nutritious, and unsuspicious to kiddos. They are great when you’re on the go, and can be beefed up calorically with some simple additives, according to your baby’s needs & tastes.

As you know by now, I love a good rainbow theme, so I’ll give you some color ideas below! You can make smoothie drinking fun by assigning a day of the week to each color, and spinning a color wheel or asking your child what color they want to drink that day. Here are some ideas for making smoothies in all colors:

Basic Recipe

In a blender, blend the following very well:
½ cup almond milk
½ cup plain yogurt
1 small banana
½ cup fresh or frozen fruit
½ cup vegetables
1 cup ice if using fresh fruit

Color Options

Refreshing Red – strawberries, bell peppers, beets, watermelon – Red foods are known for being high in a nutrient called lycopene, Anthocyanin, and vitamins A and C. Red foods increase your memory and reduce your blood pressure!
Awesome Orange – carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, cantaloupe, – Orange foods are known for being high in beta-carotene and bioflavonoids, fiber and vitamin A. Orange foods boost your immunity, and build strong bones and teeth
Yummy Yellow – peach, nectarine, mango papaya, pineapple – Yellow foods are known for being high in vitamin c and carotenoids. Carotenoids include beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body. Yellow foods boost immunity and build strong hair and healthy skin!
Glorious Green – grapes, spinach, kale, cucumber – Green foods are known for being high in fiber, potassium, folic acid and vitamins A, E C. Green foods help maintain good vision!
Bountiful Blue – blueberries, blackberries – Blue foods are known for being high in Anthocyanin and phenolic. Blue foods help your brain develop!
Wholesome White – banana – White foods are known for being high in potassium, fiber, and Alicen. White foods protect our cells from damage!

Pro Tips

Blend it very well! Little ones don’t love unexpected lumps or bumps
Pick one fruit and one veg to start, as adding too many ingredients can muddy the flavors. For example, your green smoothie could include spinach and apple and your orange could include carrots and peaches
Get your little one involved by having them add their ingredients to the blender
Avoid foods that children should not eat until 12 months including cow’s milk and honey

Add ins

To increase nutritional value, add chia seeds, or hemp hearts protein powder.
If worried about a nut allergy, use soy or pea milk (called Ripple).

Written by: Rachael Rose, Owner/Founder

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Top 12 Tips for making Thanksgiving successful for your picky eater

Rachael Rose — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 17:10:13 +0000

12 Tips for Making Thanksgiving Successful for Your Picky Eater

Start serving Thanksgiving foods all month long by incorporating them into your daily meals. That way, your child will recognize the sights, smells, and maybe even tastes of these foods come Thanksgiving Day. It’s also helpful for your child to try new foods in the comfort of their own home environment, as trying a new food in a large family meal or holiday environment can be overwhelming.
Check out this site for additional ideas.

Serve family style! Allow your child to serve themselves or ask your child what they would like you to put on their plate, which gives your child some control over their plate. Research shows that picky eaters can get overwhelmed by an overstuffed plate and will simply push the entire plate away, so be sure to not put too much of each food on their plate. By keeping white space between foods on the plate, you give visual space to the plate and your child is much more likely to try the foods – they can always ask for more! You can also give your child a few different sizes of spoons so that they can pick which size spoon they want to use to serve each food (maybe they are okay with a lot of mashed potatoes, but only a little bit of stuffing).

Start with an anchor food! This is a food your child likes and is very familiar with. There’s no need to make a special meal for your little one, but it’s important to be sure that there’s one familiar food your child can fill up on if they don’t want to eat the main dish. Bread with butter is a common “safe” food for toddlers. Anchor food puts your child at ease since they know there is something they like, which makes them all the more likely to try new bites of foods.

Use dips! If your child likes a dip such as ketchup, barbeque sauce, or ranch, bring some of it with you and allow your child to dip new foods into their favorite dip.
Treat all foods equally! In other words, don’t bribe your kids by telling them they can have a food they like if they eat a food they don’t like. It’s natural for us to say, you can’t have dessert until you eat your dinner, but this creates anxiety around eating, creates issues with food, and almost guarantees more picky eating in the future. Remember: the important thing is to ensure your child eats!

Cook together! Even if you are going out for Thanksgiving dinner, invite your child to help you make a traditional dish. This is a great tactic with picky eaters, as research shows that children are far more likely to eat foods that they helped create. Find some simple recipes (see my newsletter for cranberry sauce) and enlist your kids to help by mixing & stirring, pouring, measuring, and adding ingredients.
See this website for ideas.

Do a food related Thanksgiving craft before the meal! We do this every year in my home. Touching and playing with food gives your child experiences with food without the pressure to eat it, but they may pop something in their mouth and discover a new favorite!
Some ideas you can try:
Fruit & veggie turkey snack
Oreo turkeys
Easy/healthy snack
Thanksgiving snack

Contextualize! Explain the holiday of Thanksgiving (the child-friendly version, of course), and how the foods we eat on this day are symbolic of the Fall’s bountiful harvest. Walking them through the different foods they’ll be exposed to can be a great way to prepare and excite them about the new options. Or, blow their minds by sharing that the pumpkins you carved for Halloween are “cousins” of the squash on your dinner table!

Introduce the concept of “being thankful! This includes being thankful for the food we have to eat. Go around the table and share what you’re thankful for, and include your little one in the fun!

Read books about Thanksgiving together! Using a familiar method, such as storytelling, will help seamlessly introduce the concept of Thanksgiving and the different foods we eat for the holiday. Additionally, books that depict young children eating Thanksgiving dinner will show your own little eater that there’s nothing to fear when it comes to new holiday foods!

Relax & socialize! This is not the day to work on trying brand new foods. Allow your child to see, smell, and touch them, but don’t put extra pressure on them to actually eat the food. Keep in mind that a large part of Thanksgiving dinner is socializing with family. Allow your children to talk with family members, make jokes, and bond with relatives that they don’t often see. If they are feeling stressed about eating, allow them to have a positive experience by bonding with family.

Shut out the extra noise! Big family holidays are precious and something to treasure, but also make way for big family opinions on your child’s plate, development, or eating. Have faith that you know your little one best, and therefore know what’s best for them – regardless of the commentary by well-intended family members. If you have a relative who tends to meddle or give their two cents on eating, try connecting with them before the meal, and explain that you are giving your child plate-autonomy this year. If you need reinforcements, the phrase “please follow my lead,” has proved helpful with deterring unsolicited input!

The post Top 12 Tips for making Thanksgiving successful for your picky eater first appeared on Creative Speech Therapy NYC.

Think Texture

Rachael Rose — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 19:50:02 +0000

Think Texture: Reducing Picky Eating

First and foremost, do not introduce food textures to your baby until they have the underlying skills needed to eat that texture. When kids lack the skills needed to eat a specific texture, they quickly learn that food is “unsafe”. Kids spit out unsafe foods and will most likely refuse that food in the future. Most kids even clear their tray of that food by dropping it on the floor. How frustrating!

Parents often confuse spitting out foods as picky eating, but it is actually an anti-choking protective mechanism. Once your baby gains the necessary skills to safely chew and swallow a texture of food, you can safely re-introduce that food into your baby’s diet. Almost all food refusal is based on food texture and not food flavor. That’s great news because you can change texture to accommodate your child’s needs. For example, your baby may not be able to handle lumpy mashed potatoes because they can’t separate the lumps from the smooth puree to safely chew and swallow each texture. You can combat this by serving a smooth mash instead. Similarly, your child may not have a mature chew pattern needed to break down raw broccoli, but you can soften the broccoli texture by steaming it and making it easier to chew. Check out my Baby Eating Chart to learn how, what, and when to introduce your baby to different food textures!

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