Spring Food School

Hello Little Hands Families!

We are excited to announce that Little Hands will be offering 6-week feeding groups! Groups will be separated by age and are on the following dates:

Ages 3.5 - 5.11 years:

• Tuesdays, 2:00pm - 3:00pm, starting April 30th, ends June 4th

Ages 6 - 9 years:

• Wednesdays, 4:15pm - 5:15pm, starting May 1st, ends June 5th

Over the course of 6 treatment sessions, children will participate in play-based activities incorporating a variety of foods and a whole-body approach to eating: This encompasses postural control, oral motor skills, behavior, learning, sensory processing, medical needs, and nutritional considerations. 

Food School will be facilitated by occupational therapists, using tenants from the evidence-based Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding. It emphasizes play-based systematic desensitization to non-preferred foods to teach children to eat, explore, and enjoy a wide range of foods. 

Our feeding groups at Little Hands adhere to a basic tenet of meeting children at their developmental feeding level. This means that we never force a child to eat a non-preferred food. Instead, we guide children in climbing a developmental hierarchy of feeding skills and behaviors through active play and interaction with a variety of foods. This evidence-supported approach contributes to long-term improvement, so that children are able to increase food diversity comfortably and successfully at home, school, on playdates, at birthday parties, and everywhere in between. 

We offer feeding interventions using a peer group model, as this is an incredibly effective and powerful treatment modality in feeding therapy. Children can make rapid progress when motivated by peer-models with similar feeding challenges. Parents also take an active role in feeding interventions with ongoing coaching and home recommendations implemented to support carryover of skills for both the parent and child.

Is the SOS Approach to Feeding Right for my child

• My child eats a restricted range or variety of foods (typically less than 20)

• My child refuses entire categories of foods

• My child cries, screams, or is easily distressed when new foods are presented 

• My child usually eats entirely different foods than the rest of the family at meal times

• Mealtimes are an ongoing challenge 

• I would characterize my child’s feeding habits as extremely “picky”  

• My child is over-reactive to smells or tastes to the point of gagging or vomiting

• My child has a history of sensory-processing difficulties 

• My child has motor development challenges 

How to sign up:

• For families who are currently receiving OT feeding therapy OR have participated in a previous OT Feeding group: Please respond to this email with your interest and complete an updated food list & update any food allergies or dietary restrictions.

• For new families who have not received OT feeding services: To ensure appropriate peer pairings and group treatment goals, we require an initial evaluation to assess group readiness and appropriate fit for our sensory-based intervention approach to feeding. Please email our clinic coordinator, Emily at eo@littlehandsot.com to schedule an initial screening and submit our initial OT Intake and Feeding History Questionnaire forms that can be downloaded directly from our website. 

Let’s make food fun! 

● Space is limited to 4-6 children for the Spring group. 

● Food school sessions will be prepaid for all 6 sessions. Given the nature of the feeding intervention and pacing of therapy activities in a group setting, we will not be offering make-ups for any missed food school sessions.

Should you have additional questions about billing, please contact Emily!

Emily O'Brien |  (415) 758-2768  | eo@littlehandsot.com