Our son always had trouble eating due to the combination of premature birth, failure to thrive, and a complete oral aversion due to nasogastric-tube and finally gastric-tube feedings. Additionally, something was wrong as he had trouble keeping food inside. He subsisted on tube feedings and we visited gastroenterologist (GI) doctor after GI doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with no diagnosis in sight. We decided after he turned two that enough was enough and we needed help. After researching many options for feeding therapy, we were introduced to Carol and her methods and we've never looked back.
We started slowly at age 2.5, getting our son used to sitting in a high chair and accepting a spoon, but with every step, Carol was patient and kind. There was never any force-feeding or threats like some of the bigger feeding centers we considered. She worked directly with our son's sensory needs to make sure he was successful every step of the way. She was also key in training us to do the work at home so that we could continue his therapy without having to return for service time after time.
She is tough and demands a lot, but she is always kind, and her heart is shown in how deeply she cares for the medical and social well-being of her patients. And she never gives up.
When he reached a plateau at age five, Carol brainstormed with us to get us the medical care we needed to have our son progress. Finally, with her help and support, we received a diagnosis and treatment which has successfully gotten our son off his dependence on a gastric-tube, and now, at age eight, he is able to eat primarily chewed foods for his diet. Even though we don't "need" Carol every day, we do touch up sessions with her on a monthly basis even now and consider her a part of our family. She is a wonderful practitioner with many years of experience with different challenges and types of children. In the end, she is always successful because she works individual to every family situation and kid personality.
Even when we thought all was lost, she challenged us to try different things, to see different practitioners, and to push our son in ways we had never considered. Our son's success in feeding is directly in relation to our time with Carol and we will always be grateful for her to that. If you are dealing with any feeding issue big or small, Carol is by far the best feeding therapist you could have.