• Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S.) Approach to Feeding– Children’s Therapy Place now offers feeding therapy using Dr. Kay Toomey’s Ph.D. Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding, a systematic desensitization program respected and used worldwide to treat feeding issues. It can also be used to treat oral motor delays. We offer individual and group feeding sessions.

Some of the red flags that may indicate a child is in need of feeding therapy include:

• • • Ongoing poor weight gain
    • Weight loss
    • Ongoing choking/gagging
    • Coughing during meals
    • Inability to transition to baby food purees or solids
    • Family is fighting about food with child
    • Parent repeatedly reports the child as difficult for everyone to feed

• Astronaut Training– A specially designed program which addresses 3 different and very important sensory systems: the vestibular, visual, and auditory systems.  Functional improvements in the child are seen with spatial awareness, general movement coordination, sensory regulation, attention, visual tracking, and locating and perceiving sound in their environment.  

The program uses a rotary board to test a child’s responsiveness to rotary movements. When a child is positioned in sitting and lying, the head is positioned to activate the inner ear hair cells while the eyes are closed to create a post rotary nystagmus (flickering of the eyes). The rotary board is rotated in counterclockwise and clockwise directions for up to 10 seconds with directional music input provided. Post rotary, the nystagmus of the eyes is assessed to determine the child’s response to the input. Most children’s response should last up to approximately 7 seconds. When it is determined that a child has an atypical response, various treatment protocols are implemented to assist the child in integrating their vestibular, visual, and auditory processing.