Parent Testimonial | Parents of Ryan

Our son, Ryan, was born prematurely and suffered an unspecified gastrointestinal (GI) issue, which included refusal to eat, chronic vomiting, and acid reflux symptoms. After nearly 18 months of traveling throughout New England for medical care, trying every hypo-allergenic and medical formula, aggressive medications, and gastric-tube surgeries, our pediatric physician mentioned an intensive feeding program in Richmond, VA. We applied and were quickly connected to Carol, our lead feeding therapist.

She was the answer to our prayers, the hope my emotionally exhausted and despairing family needed. In all our time seeing medical professionals, she was the ONLY practitioner to say, “I know what this is. I see it all the time, and I can help”, which brought tears of relief. 

During the eight-week program, Carol collaborated with the team to ensure Ryan’s medical, nutritional and behavioral issues were addressed. She carefully guided Ryan through oral-motor exercises and implemented unique feeding techniques following the TR-eat Model. Throughout the process, she educated our family on effective, long-term feeding practices. Ryan was soon independent of his gastric-tube and enjoying the flavors and textures of whole foods. In the months after graduation from the feeding program, Carol remained available to us for consultations, which was also a blessing, because our local feeding therapy failed to progress Ryan’s skills.  

Today, Ryan is an energetic, happy eater, thanks to Carol’s exceptional skill, knowledge, and compassion. She is not only Ryan’s therapist; she is our family friend.

Parent Testimonial | Parents of Aidan

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.  

Parent Testimonial | Parents of Callie

Due to complications at birth, we brought our daughter Callie home with a gastric-tube after seven weeks in the NICU. During the next four and a half years we attended occupational and speech therapies to help her progress in her feeding skills. Most involved food play and we achieved little to no progress, and in one case we even experienced regression. Adding to the challenges was the pain she was constantly in due to constant leaking around her gastric-tube and the pressure the tube placed on a nerve.

Finally, after two nationally known children's hospitals and three local therapy experts, we were referred to Carol Elliott in Richmond, VA by an acquaintance who had a child with similar challenges.

When we arrived for treatment, our daughter was four years, nine months old and completely dependent upon her feeding tube. At that time Callie was able to drink water from a glass, refusing all other liquids, and would occasionally eat a few goldfish crackers or potato chips. To say the least, we were desperate for help when we arrived for our first treatment session.

After six days of intensive treatment she ate an ounce of applesauce, and from that point on the progress was nothing short of a miracle. Within eight weeks of intensive treatment Callie was taking all of her calories orally and we were only using her feeding tube to supplement her water intake. Within another four weeks after returning home we were no longer using the tube at all. Her gastric-tube was finally removed after six months of consistent oral feeding.

Callie was no longer in pain for the first time in her life, and she was so much happier and outgoing. We continued work with Carol via telehealth on Callie's chewing skills and slowly moved away from pureed foods. We are forever grateful for the help and education we have received.

Parent Testimonial | Mother of Joshua

During therapy services at a feeding program in Richmond, Virginia, my son made significant improvements and acquired the skills to feed himself. He looked forward to the sessions with Carol because she made the tasks seem effortless. 

Carol has the right mix of professional strategies and fun to meet the needs of children who require feeding therapy services.

As my son’s primary therapist, she directed feeding therapy in collaboration with the rest of the medical team. She readily coordinated and obtained nutritional information, meal preparation, and mealtime routine with team members both in and out of the program. She served as an intermediary between medical providers, private therapy services, and my son’s school.

My son also greatly benefitted from her support when she reviewed feeding protocols with his caregivers. I was so impressed that he achieved functional progress toward therapy goals working with her.