Pediatric Tube Weaning Part 1: The Role of the Feeding Therapist
Presented by Allison Brown
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Pediatric tube weaning is a complex, multidisciplinary process that requires careful clinical judgment, comprehensive planning, and family-centered care. This course provides feeding therapists and other healthcare professionals with foundational knowledge to identify appropriate candidates for tube weaning, understand the impact of enteral feeding on development and family dynamics, and establish individualized therapy plans that promote oral intake, skill development, and child autonomy. With an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and caregiver empowerment, the course outlines the therapist’s role in evaluating readiness, supporting feeding environments, and navigating common barriers, such as medical instability, weight loss, or social challenges. Ideal for providers working with medically complex pediatric populations, this course offers practical strategies to improve outcomes and promote successful transitions from tube to oral feeding.
Learning Objectives
- Distinguish appropriate tube-weaning candidates
- Examine the role of the feeding therapist in tube weaning
- Analyze the impact of interdisciplinary team members
- Construct individualized feeding-therapy strategies to support tube weaning and promote eating and swallowing performance
Meet your instructor
Allison Brown
Allison Tidwell Brown is a pediatric speech-language pathologist and board-certified specialist in swallowing and swallowing disorders at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas. Allison is a lead outpatient feeding therapist at Children’s Health and is a member of the multidisciplinary saliva management team and GI tube weaning…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Tube-Weaning Candidates
This chapter will help clinicians identify appropriate candidates for tube weaning by considering each child’s medical and developmental history, as well as the child’s oral and pharyngeal skills. A discussion of the psychosocial impact of tube-feeding on children and families will be included.
2. Participating on an Interdisciplinary Team
This chapter will help participants feel comfortable participating on an interdisciplinary team. Participants will gain knowledge about the value a feeding therapist can bring to tube weaning, enabling them to feel confident contributing to the interdisciplinary team.
3. Developing an Individualized Feeding-Therapy Plan
Developing an Individualized Feeding-Therapy Plan This chapter will discuss feeding-therapy approaches that help support children in their tube-weaning goals. Participants will learn strategies to problem-solve through various obstacles and potential plateaus in progress. A specific emphasis will be placed on supporting caregivers throughout the tube-weaning process.
