I have heard parents say this many times when we discuss the eating habits of their ''picky eater:'' ''Hes/she used to eat (preferred food), but not anymore! Now I can barely get them to eat or try anything new. He/she eats the same things over and over.'' Our family has been dealing with this at home with our two-year-old picky eater. ...

Are you stressed because the holidays are upon us and your child is a picky eater? Is every meal a struggle and is it even worse when you are sitting with your in-laws and family friends and can feel the tension thicken in the air? Well, hang on! Here are some tips to help you prepare yourself and your child for mealtime challenges that lie ...

During the month of December we have been celebrating the holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa at our preschool. The holiday of Kwanzaa, like any holiday, embraces certain symbols that embody the message and purpose of the holiday. Here you can find a complete description of these symbols, one of which is corn. I decided to use ...

Happy December everyone -- one of my most favorite months of the year! Time with family and friends, gift-giving and baking holiday treats fill our days and nights with fun! Today's recipe is one I would like to share that really represents what the holidays are all about! My 4-year-old nephew made this yummy treat at home with his ...

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, I realize that many families and caregivers, as well as staff, struggle to include the elderly patient with swallowing or cognitive-communication impairments in the holiday celebrations. If Mom or Dad have swallowing or memory deficits, it definitely impacts the celebration. It's awkward to talk ...

This is the last week of my Piccolini Perfecto Pasta creations. Please take a look at my previous two recipe posts for ideas on how to create a delicious rainbow of flavors and nutrients using Barilla's Piccolini vegetable pastas. The third and final recipe includes the Mini Rotelle (aka mini wagon wheels), wonderfully made with spinach ...

If you have been reading this blog since its inception three years ago (the first post was published October 1, 2008) then you will know that when I began writing my weekly posts, I was working in a home-based birth to 3 program. It was that experience that prompted me to contact ADVANCE with the idea to create a speech and language therapy ...

This week instead of a recipe, I would like to share a fun lesson that expands on the apple theme from last week's recipe post. This is a lesson I created and implemented with my occupational therapist colleague and is an imaginative mix of communication and sensory-enriched activities! The Story of Johnny Appleseed The lesson began with a ...

As promised, today is the first ''Good Eater Secrets'' post! Good Eater Secrets is a series of questions designed to investigate the ''secrets'' behind children who are good, healthy eaters and the moms (and dads!) that feed them! The purpose of this search is to help both parents of ''picky eaters'' and speech therapists who work with ...

  Our young clients with ASD aren't really so difficult when it comes to lesson plans for therapy and fulfilling benchmarks and outcomes. In fact, they're very easy. Look at my list of Top Five Necessities and you'll see that the first four are ''get it and you'll have it'' kind of things. 1.    ...