1. Improve Nutritional Intake
The first line of treatment for a feeding disorder is to improve nutritional intake and correct nutritional deficiencies as soon as possible. A dietician can help you make sure that your child is getting adequate amounts of fluids and calories. Your doctor or dietician can also address any nutritional deficiencies that exist. Occasionally, a short period of hospitalization is required to ensure that these nutritional improvements are being made. With time, your child should start to grow again and recover from malnutrition.
When food allergies are behind the feeding disorder, it is very important that these be addressed as well. A dietician or pediatric GI specialist can help you make the necessary changes to your child's diet.
2. Behavior Modification
Adjusting nutritional intake, though, is not enough on its own. Since many of the symptoms of a feeding disorder are psychological, your child may require the help of a therapist to overcome her aversion to eating. A child who has come to feel that mealtime is an unpleasant and uncomfortable experience will need to overcome her fear of eating. Behavior modification programs can help your child develop healthier eating associations. A therapist can also teach your child relaxation techniques that will help with some of the anxiety around food.
Some children with feeding disorders might refuse to eat as a means of getting attention. Here too, behavior modification plans can help you deal with this issue and teach your child to use more positive behaviors to gain attention.
Therapeutic intervention can be particularly beneficial if your child has been dealing with the feeding disorder for a significant length of time. Though there may have been various causes for this condition, your child will probably have developed many learned behaviors that can be difficult to break. It is important to deal with these behaviors and help your child develop healthy eating habits so that the feeding disorder will not turn into a long-term problem.
3. Parent Education
Since parental misinformation about diet and nutrition is often responsible for feeding disorders, an important part of treating this disorder is to educate parents. If your child shows symptoms of a feeding disorder, you will need strategies and tools to aid in your child's recovery. You may be shown how to create a relaxed and comfortable eating environment that will be conducive to developing better eating habits; how to help recognize your child's hunger and satiety cues; the best ways to feed your child; the nutritional requirements of infants and children; and how to deal with your child's challenging eating behaviors.
Treating feeding disorder in infants and young children usually requires a team of people including pediatricians, nurses, dieticians, therapists and social workers. As the parent, though, you will always be the most important member of the team.
