Will your child be a picky eater forever?

You've put butter on them, loaded them with cheese and buried them in macaroni noodles, but your child still won't eat what's for dinner. Or breakfast. Or lunch.
 
If this sounds more familiar than foreign, you already know you have a picky eater on your hands. But did you know there’s treatment for it? That there’s a program available in our community that doesn’t incite tantrums by your child…or you?
 
It’s called the TR-eat® Model (Transdisciplinary Effective Assessment and Treatment) and it’s now available through Easterseals of Northeast Central Florida. The TR-eat Model includes behavior strategies that are combined with skill building, facilitation, sensory desensitization, and oral motor intervention.
 
Is this program for your child? Self-assess by answering the following:
 
         Does your child eat less than 15 foods consistently, maybe as few as 1-3?
         Does your child gag, shudder or vomit at the sight or taste of foods?
         Does your child become emotionally upset when they’re encouraged to interact with non-preferred foods?
         Are there large categories of foods your child refuses to eat?
         Does your child have sensory issues with food, such as not liking the way it smells, looks or feels?
 
Contact Dorothy Lefford today at 386-944-7856 or dlefford@esnecfl.org for more information on this evidence-based model that’s been found to have consistently positive results for picky eaters. Your child may not be ready for a salad bar, but enlisting Easterseals’ help with food aversion could be a sweet TR-eat.

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