If someone asked me a few years ago how mealtimes worked at my house I’d say it was a true life horror story. Or maybe that crazy wasn’t a strong enough sentiment. That’s of course if I didn’t just change the subject without an answer at all.

My son, Mr. K, was a very happy two year old…until you put food in the same room as him. We couldn’t even get him into a highchair without screaming, tears or him causing himself to be sick. He had been diagnosed, recently at the time, with extreme acid reflux(GERD) which caused him horrible pain when eating and he choked on EVERYTHING. That in turn caused him to actually fear food. Not just for himself but he’d also get upset when others ate around him. His doctors kept saying “Mr. K will eat if he’s hungry” or my favorite “Mr. K is just a picky eater”. Eventually we were sent to “feeding therapy” (which I didn’t even know was a thing) and a few more weeks passed without any positive impact. After one traumatic food therapy session, where he was strapped into a highchair screaming bloody murder, I was at the end of my sanity. I let him sit for two minutes before rescuing him and ending the session early. No, we never returned to that provider.

Then we found Dr. Neina Ferguson and Tubes 2 Tables. At this point I hated doctors/therapists as much as Mr. K hated food. Ms. Neina had given a seminar on the difference between “picky eaters and problem feeders” and by chance two of Mr. K’s early intervention coordinators were there and brain connections started firing. I wasn’t sold after our last attempt with food therapy ended so badly but I agreed to speak with her and have one in home session. The first thing I noticed on the phone, and I’m sure I was a little rude to start with, was she actually listened! She listened to everything! She asked questions that no one else had asked and she understood within one phone call what I’d tried so hard to show other people for over a year.

This was something more than a “picky” child. She volunteered to watch and participate in Mr. K’s first swallow study to make sure he wasn’t forced with food again “as that will cause more trauma to him AND YOU”. I finally had someone fighting with me! From there we really started to work. It’s not just the time in the sessions that makes the magic happen. Everyone had to commit to the plan and then apply what we learned during each session to our everyday life. With constant follow through, food became fun again. There were times I could have sworn we were her only clients because no matter what came up she was always available to us and our needs. She even helped coordinate with his teachers at school to ensure he’d continue feeding in a new environment.

Correcting a feeding issue is not an easy fix. It’s long hard work. Parents/Caregivers have to listen and follow through every day. The pay off of all the work is more than worth it. Through Dr. Neina Ferguson and Tubes 2 Tables I can now say meal times are….boring. We sit, we eat and sometimes we make messes. I’d take boring over the nightmare any time. Thank you is not a big enough sentiment.

Jacqueline “Nikki” Stevens