<\/h5>\n

Many children and adults experience eating difficulties brought on by physical, sensory\u00a0and psychosocial factors.<\/h5>\n

Restrictive eating patterns negatively impact an individual\u2019s\u00a0social, emotional, and dietary well-being and can lead to more serious complications.<\/p>\n

Individuals with sensory or physical challenges, no matter what age, may experience\u00a0negative mealtime patterns that include not eating or limited intake of food because of\u00a0selectivity or sensitivity issues, gagging or swallowing reactions, vomiting, social stress\u00a0and oral motor shortcomings. One or more of these factors contribute to unsuccessful\u00a0mealtimes for individuals and their family members.<\/p>\n

Eating is a complex and\u00a0multisystem skill, so FOCUS\u00a0 practitioners believe it is not helpful to target treatments\u00a0solely on the individual\u2019s mouth, but to consider the individual\u2019s whole body and all\u00a0environmental, contextual, physical, and psychological causes as part of a collaborative and systematic approach to treatment.[\/vc_column_text]<\/div>

<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1534293145555{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.01) !important;*background-color: rgb(255,255,255) !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1534292671730{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-right: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;background-color: #f16723 !important;}”][vc_column_text]How can complex, negative eating patterns be\u00a0treated and turned into mealtime success?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Individuals who have eating difficulties develop successful\u00a0mealtime patterns by addressing their underlying sensory\u00a0and whole body challenges. Many children and adults\u00a0experience eating difficulties brought on by physical,\u00a0sensory, and psychosocial factors. We work with these\u00a0individuals to overcome mealtime issues using an 8-step\u00a0process to ensure proper nutritional, emotional, and social\u00a0health and well-being.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column]

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What does the FOCUS Institute do?<\/h3>\n

The FOCUS Institute for Mealtime Success helps individuals with sensory challenges who have\u00a0eating difficulties develop successful mealtime patterns through compassionate care, systematic\u00a0assessment of all underlying issues, and whole-body intervention and treatment.<\/p>\n

Many kids and adults experience eating difficulties brought on by physical, sensory, and\u00a0environmental factors. We work with these individuals to overcome mealtime issues using an\u00a08-step process to ensure proper nutritional, emotional, and social health and well-being. At the\u00a0FOCUS Institute, comprehensive and family-centered assessment, treatment, and education are\u00a0provided by occupational therapists that are highly-skilled in identifying and addressing the\u00a0challenges that trigger mealtime challenges. The entire process, from the initial intake through\u00a0discharge planning, is collaborative with family members, and customized to focus on the unique\u00a0and individual needs of the client and family to ensure personal mealtime goals are understood,\u00a0achieved, and replicated over time.<\/p>\n

The FOCUS Program uses a detailed evaluation process in order to identify the key areas impacting\u00a0an individual\u2019s eating abilities and habits. A systematic intervention process is utilized to address\u00a0and mitigate negative patterns and behaviors while improving family-based mealtime\u00a0participation.[\/vc_column_text]<\/div>

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Services offered at The FOCUS Institute include:<\/span><\/h5>\n

\n
• FOCUS occupational therapy evaluation<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
• 1:1 outpatient occupational therapy services<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
• Consultation and education with clients, families, and team members<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
• Educational training for professionals<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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  <\/figure><\/div><\/div>[vc_empty_space height=”50px”]<\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” parallax=”content-moving” parallax_image=”2425″ css=”.vc_custom_1534293480584{background-color: #106d72 !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/4″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1534293327666{padding-top: 100px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1534294382564{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

  I wanted to thank you for everything you did today. In the past twenty-one months I have not had a day like today. Once we got\u00a0home after M\u2019s nap, she ate an egg, ten cubes of tofu and half an apple. She played like a normal child and did not give me a hard\u00a0time with diaper change and bath time. On top of this she ate two chicken meatballs and tomatoes for dinner! She also tolerated being at the dining table for fifteen minutes without throwing food. The whole day went smoothly. Thank you so much for today.<\/span><\/p>\n

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  <\/p>\n

  – Mother of child using FOCUS<\/p>\n

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  How are we different?<\/h3>\n

  Unlike other programs, The FOCUS Program avoids force-feeding techniques\u00a0or only addressing isolated challenges that contribute to mealtime, but rather\u00a0systematically evaluates ALL underlying sensory and motor\u00a0 challenges first – in order to build a customized treatment plan.<\/p>\n

  The FOCUS Program is the only mealtime success treatment approach that\u00a0utilizes an actual 8-step process that takes into account all underlying\u00a0mealtime challenges and can be used alongside other professionals as part of\u00a0a multi-disciplinary approach.<\/p>\n

  The FOCUS Program can be used in conjunction with other professional\u00a0interventions that supports health and mealtime performance such as\u00a0dieticians, psychologists, social workers and speech and language pathologists.<\/p>\n

  FOCUS practitioners are compassionate, highly-skilled and deeply-experienced professionals with a proven track record of mealtime\u00a0successes. All staff are trained to recognize, evaluate, and treat all types of eating challenges in individuals with sensory and physical challenges.<\/p>\n

  The FOCUS Institute is located within OTA The Koomar Center, an internationally-recognized center for occupational therapy,\u00a0speech and language therapy and sensory integration. OTA The Koomar Center has been offering mealtime evaluation and treatment\u00a0services for more than 30 years, and is a national leader in providing experienced, collaborative, cutting-edge occupational therapy\u00a0assessment and intervention for individuals of all ages. OTA The Koomar Center is a subject matter expert on mealtime success.<\/p>\n

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  <\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1534293684067{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  [vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][vc_empty_space height=”20px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row” content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1534293145555{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.01) !important;*background-color: rgb(255,255,255) !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1534292671730{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-right: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;background-color: #f16723 !important;}”][vc_column_text]How can complex, negative eating patterns be\u00a0treated and turned into mealtime success? Individuals who have eating difficulties develop successful\u00a0mealtime patterns by addressing their underlying sensory\u00a0and whole body challenges. Many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6198"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6198"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6267,"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6198\/revisions\/6267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/danitest.com\/OTA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}