When we first reached out to Carol to help our son, Tanner, we were no strangers to feeding challenges. We had we been through the gauntlet with our older child’s early feeding issues and came out successfully thanks to feeding therapy. We were also quite familiar with feeding issues, as I provided behavioral support within a comprehensive feeding therapy program for several years. Even with our previous experiences both personally and professionally, we needed help and Carol stepped up to the task. During the initial assessment, we learned that Tanner was not chewing correctly due to a tricky tongue tie. She connected us with pediatric dentists and supported us through preparation and aftercare of this procedure (even coming to our house on a Saturday when I called her in a panic to assure me I was performing the exercises correctly). Tanner’s eating took off and much to our relief, the stress around meals began to subside. 

Week after week, Carol appeared at our home greeting us with a bright smile and an enthusiastic, “Hello!”. We worked together to identify goals and a treatment plan that would work with our family dynamics, parenting styles, and mealtime logistics.

I could go on and on, but I think Tanner’s actions may speak for themselves. For the first few sessions, when things got tough, Tanner would turn to Carol and say, “Bye Bye! Bye Bye!”, while pointing insistently at the door. As we all got into the rhythm of treatment and everyone’s confidence increased, Tanner started waiting by the window each week and squealed with delight, “Ms. Carol coming! Time to eat!”. We knew we ready to graduate from feeding therapy when one night during dinner, Tanner looked down at his plate and announced he was “all done”, and it wasn’t because he was refusing to eat. He had actually finished his meal! He asked me to take a picture. He was so proud of himself for eating his meatballs, carrots, and oranges and he wanted to share his success with his good friend, Ms. Carol.