Date

Apr 16 2020
Expired!

Time

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Cost

Professionals: $20, Parents and students: Free

Feeding Tubes & Families

No parent ever expects their child will need a feeding tube. Families often feel like a feeding tube is a sign of failure or an unwanted necessity. This workshop will focus on helping professionals understand the lived experience of families who have children with feeding tubes and will explore key themes prevalent in this population. Professionals will learn skills to help families begin to understand how tube feedings can feel more like mealtimes and less like medical procedures.   The workshop will also focus on helping professionals identify when a child may be ready to transition off of the feeding tube, understand common methods used to facilitate this transition, and understand how to collaborate with a child’s medical team during the process.

Please note: This is a virtual event via Zoom. A meeting link will be sent out the day of the event.

Approved for IL EI credits.

Karen Dilfer is an occupational therapist, feeding specialist, and food enthusiast.  She has a strong pediatric background and loves to help children with motor, sensory, and mealtime challenges.  A Chicago native, Karen enjoys discovering new restaurants and cooking with friends and family. She is a co-founder of the Chicago Feeding Group, a non-profit organization that seeks to support parents and professionals who work with children who struggle to eat. Karen has a bachelor of science degree from Calvin College and a Master of Science degree from Washington University in St. Louis. She is Neurodevelopmental  Treatment (NDT) trained and has also completed post-graduate education in sensory integration. Karen has worked with Marsha Dunn Klein, MEd, OTR/L, a leading expert in the field of pediatric feeding and creator of the “Get Permission” Approach to Mealtimes.