RCH ECIS currently provides fussy eating support called Food
Explorers (formerly known as Food Warriors). This is facilitated by our ‘SOS Approach to Feeding’ trained professionals.
Kindly be aware that we are not a clinic and out-of-pocket expenses are associated with our services. We welcome NDIS funding.
We do not run the program all the time, therefore we have an expression of interest list.
It is important to highlight that reaching out to us does not guarantee the running of the group or program.
What is Food Explorers?
Informed by the principles
of:
- SOS (Sequential-Oral-Sensory) Approach
to fussy eating
- Ellyn Satter Institute - Division of Responsibility in Feeding
Child’s goals for the Food Explorers program:
- exposure to
play-based interactions with food
- to learn to have
positive experiences with food
- to increase
willingness to explore different foods
Parent/Carer
goals for the Food Explorers program:
- to
learn the cues to eating
- to
understand the steps that are involved in eating
- to
create a feeding routine at home
- respecting
and trusting your child’s limits
-
to learn how to encourage exploration and learning around foods that your child is not yet eating
For fussy eating support, we offer three Food
Explorers program options:
- Food
Explorers - Family Meals Program
- Food
Explorers - Individual Program
- Food
Explorers - Group Program
Program breakdown
1. Assessment
session
- Access to two ‘SOS
Approach to Feeding’ trained professionals (where possible) for a mealtime assessment inclusive of oral motor skills.
This is conducted at our North Melbourne location.
2. Parent/Carer
information session
The information
session aims to address:
The parent/carer
information session can be run by your ‘SOS Approach to Feeding’ trained
professional/s via telehealth.
There may also
be an option to attend a group information session.
3. Telehealth
session
Focusing on
strategies that support family meals – strategies that can be used within the
home, conducted by a ‘SOS Approach to Feeding’ trained professional via telehealth.
4. Therapy meals
sessions
- Six therapy meal sessions will be offered
onsite at our North Melbourne location.
- These
will be facilitated by your ‘SOS Approach to Feeding’ trained professional/s.
- Therapy meals focus on fun
exploration of new foods to increase willingness to try new foods.
- Parents/carers
can be an active participant in the therapy meal sessions.
- Therapy
meals session options -
- Option 1: Individual program (therapist, parent/carer, child).
- Option 2: Group program (therapists, parents/carers, children).
Groups will run where the group format best meets the needs of multiple children.
5. Report
- A summary
of the child’s involvement in the Food Explorers program will be written by your
‘SOS
Approach to Feeding’ trained professional.
6. Feedback session
- Conducted via
telehealth or onsite, your ‘SOS Approach to Feeding’ trained professional will provide feedback from the program
inclusive of a report.
Eligibility
- Food
Explorers can be adapted for all children under 6 years.
- The
group program is most suited to children aged 3-5 years. The assessment
will help determine suitability for a group.
- RCH
ECIS will accept NDIS and private paying families. Please note we have no
capacity for families to claim through Medicare or their private health
insurance.
- The program is run at our location in North Melbourne. Referrals
from families living outside of our catchment will be accepted.
Referrals
We
accept referrals from parents, caregivers and providers via email or our online
form.
Please be informed regarding our wait times.
Presently, there is a significant demand for support from RCH ECIS, and we are unable to provide a precise estimate on wait times.
We highly recommend registering your child's name on waitlists for other services as well.
Sources
- The Ellyn Satter Institute - https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/
- SOS Approach to Feeding - https://sosapproachtofeeding.com/