Food Chaining

Dive deep into the incredible connection between core muscle exercises and their impact on learning challenges. https://ilslearningcorner.com/2015-11-why-these-core-muscle-exercises-help-prevent-learning-challenges-in-the-classroom/

Heather Shumaker's words remind us to prioritize what's truly important for our little ones: play, exploration, and emotional growth. By nurturing their creativity and confidence now, we're setting them up for success in academics and beyond. 🎨📚

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Add these things to your sessions. Make therapy an awesome fun place and not something to fear or dread.

GOT ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS THAT WOULD QUALIFY AS HAPPINESS TRIGGERS?

This is also what we need to do when diagnosing a PDF. ❤️

Critical thinking resources and tools: https://www.theottoolbox.com/critical-thinking/

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Yesterday, I had my second breast MRI. No real concerns. Just checking on me. It’s been nine years since my last one and it was still as awful as I remember.

My dear friend Shannon and I have this ongoing weird connection with tests at the same time and I didn’t know her results yet so I was really super-charged. I thought of her courage as I registered and walked in to the suite. I chastised myself for being nervous.

It’s one of those things you have to power through. For the first one, in 2015, I decided that I needed to go to it alone. I knew I would have to stand and face fear and I better get started fighting back and I didn’t want Randy to always have to support me by physically being there. He could also hug me as I left and returned home and I wasn’t the only one traumatized. This is a family disease.

So off I went.
For some Radiographic Deja vu.

This time, a seasoned and tested girl went in that room, said no to the music they want screaming in your ears to distract you. Not possible. I want as much silence as I can hold while the jackhammers and buzzing and alarms tell my body to run.

I was feeling sooo many feelings. Some past, some current but I was feeling way, way too much. I was trying to calm. I love the “this will take 4 minutes” and the corrections not to “breathe too much” or too deep while lying face down and being scared to death. I had to repeat one section because of my over breathing.

But then I decided, while still having the test to listen to my body and in that moment, to stop and BE.

Here. Now.
Shut fear down.
Orient to now.
Stop and endure it.
This is 2024 not 2015.

I will not bring this home. I will not allow this past the amygdala.

I am made of stronger stuff now but I had a killer headache after. All day. Almost made me sick to my stomach. I was feeling and analyzing and counseling myself through it. Lying on my stomach like that is so hard on my neck. I was feeling a million things at once. It was a bit disorienting, but I grounded myself again.

This is a life skill to refine. Lesson time. I thought of all the women who have walked in that room and received that call. Some still here, too many are gone.

I felt so much gratitude for my nine year recovery and my cancer-lite/surgery-hard story.

I know I will still feel an underlying current of heightened emotion until next week when the results are in. Waiting is always so hard. I need to wait in the now not in the memory of the past. I’ve had a rupture before and they are really just checking on me. The FDA recommends it now.

I knew I would have to have one sometime in the future, but it wasn’t easy. I thought it would be. I was wrong.

I wish that back then, that I had been prepared. Informed. Counseled. You walk into this blindsided. So many decisions. So many changing parts. Diagnosis is a process.

There was another woman there waiting. I wondered what her story was, where in the journey…I would have loved to been able to talk to her. This is why I am working on my Oncology Food Chaining courses and eventually a podcast and book. It fuels me.

There has to be more time to prepare yourself in the beginning. Ways to shield yourself and focus on your treatment and your healing step by step or simultaneously. You need a mindset. A nutrition plan. A wellness and spiritual health team around you. You need outlets. Your family needs care. So much more than cut, chemo and radiate.

I still have a lot of work to do.

Words to live by 💛

What do you have to do to safely eat this complex food? How many varying motor plans do you need? How many shifts? How many times do you press and hold part of a bite of food and process and swallow smaller bites? How many locations in your mouth? How much tension in your musculature? How long does it take you to chew and form a ball of food safe enough for swallowing? What is your lip seal like? Can you build adequate pressure? Would you need a drink to assist? More than one swallow? When and how are you breathing during this meal?

It depends on your anatomy. Dental issues? Vaulted palate? Big tonsils and adenoids? Clear nasal breathing? Are you air swallowing?

If you can eat this, see how skilled you are!!! The shrimp alone is more rubbery and challenging. How could you modify or simplify to make it easier? Chop, dice, make smaller and serve as mini roll ups?

How skilled is the child at biting off a piece of food? Can the child regulate their own perfect bite size? I teach them about that. “Find your perfect bite!” and they give me a thumbs up.

Too sensory? Sauce residue on the lips? Does it bother the child? Teach them “clean up” and how to hold and then clear. Usually you hold and press the bolus in place, lick your lips or bring them in or together to clear. What do you do in a pause phase of eating if you need to stop and use your napkin?

Does the child spit food out of the mouth? Overchallenged? Afraid? Do the kids know how to stop the sequence of movements and then find them again after a pause? That is some complex motor planning!

Food Chaining is all about oral-sensory motor age and skills. Each food needs a plan.

Simplify. Script the kids. Tell them how to eat the food you offer. Many kids eat in a primitive munching pattern. Up and down jaw movement or lip smacking and air swallowing like Pac-Man. This air pocketing can stop a child from eating a sufficient amount. Make sure your meals offered match their skills.

Eating is not easy.

Analyze food by taste, texture(s), complexity…and bite size matters. Your Food Chaining Individualized Eating Profile should contain all of this information.

🌮 Grilled Shrimp Caesar Wraps 🌮

🍤 Indulge in these delicious Grilled Shrimp Caesar Wraps, packed with flavor and perfect for a quick meal!

Ingredients:
For the Shrimp:

1 pound (450g) large shrimp, peeled and deveined 🍤
2 tablespoons olive oil 🫒
2 cloves garlic, minced 🧄
1 tablespoon lemon juice 🍋
Salt and pepper to taste 🧂
1 teaspoon paprika 🌶️
For the Caesar Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise 🥄
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 🧀
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 🍋
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 🍯
2 cloves garlic, minced 🧄
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 🥄
Salt and pepper to taste 🧂
For the Wraps:

4 large flour tortillas 🌮
2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped 🥬
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 🍅
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 🧀
Lemon wedges (for serving) 🍋
Directions:
1️⃣ Marinate the Shrimp:
In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, minced garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Let marinate for 15-20 minutes.

2️⃣ Prepare the Caesar Dressing:
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, grated Parmesan cheese, fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste. Set aside.

3️⃣ Grill the Shrimp:
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Thread the marinated shrimp onto skewers or use a grill basket. Grill the shrimp for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until pink and opaque. Remove from the grill and set aside.

4️⃣ Assemble the Wraps:
Warm the flour tortillas on the grill or in a skillet for about 30 seconds on each side. Lay each tortilla flat and spread a generous amount of Caesar dressing in the center. Add a handful of chopped romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and grilled shrimp. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

5️⃣ Wrap and Serve:
Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll it up tightly to form a wrap. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cooking Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4 wraps

Have you seen our FREE parent resource? - https://mailchi.mp/getpermissioninstitute/toothbrushing-1-2-10650854

AMEN!!!

😂😂😂😂😂

😀😀😀

We have two online Continuing Ed courses ❤️

Food Chaining Therapy for SLPs | Overcoming Aversion, Sensory Challenges and Fear Participants will learn to use the six steps of PreChaining and Food Chaining therapy for the child with severe feeding aversion. Offered for 0.4 ASHA SLP CEUs.

Do an analysis of your own eating style. I love designing diets and chaining to new foods. The better we get at analyzing an eating style, the better we become at expanding it. We all have patterns in what we eat. Therapists, parents, what kind of eater are you?

Is your diet bland or diverse, higher or lower in flavor, multi-textural or uniform? How many food groups? What makes up your core diet? Are you rotating foods? In a rut? Are you a cautious or an adventurous eater? Wide range of liquids or just a few? Sugar? Salt? Are these too high?

1) Your 5 favorite foods, what are the foods like? Patterns? Are they single or mixed texture? Multi? All one texture? Uniform? Taste? Mild or strong? Bland? Packaged or real food?
2) Your least favorite/yuck foods-patterns? Slimy? Smelly? Hard to chew? Why no?
3) Do you dip? Yes or no? Sauce or gravies? What ones do you like? Strong like buffalo sauce/bleu cheese dip? Sweet like Chic-Fil-A or Kinders The Chicken Sauce? Honey mustard or BBQ? Ranch? Green Goddess? Exposure to green anything is good!
4) Veggies? Raw? Roasted? Cooked? Dipped? In cheese? As part of a soup? Not at all?
5) Fruits, favorites? Can they also be baked? Crust and pie? Fruit breads? Fruit muffins? Powdered sugar, could it help?
6) Mapping flavor, any acceptance of peanut butter, cheeses, lemon, grader, rhubarb, salsa, pizza sauce, potato, garlic, onion, A-1, seasoned salt, beef, chicken, ham, bacon, sausage, egg, dark chocolate? I like to look for these foods and then build chains around them.
7) Beans, chili? Refried beans? Hummus? Black beans? Black bean brownies? Mexican dip? With cheese? Cilantro?
8 ) Drinks, what is the thinnest and the thickest drink for you? A shake, a smoothie, a float or none? Water only or soda? Lemonade? Hot chocolate? How much sugar are you getting in liquid? Coffee? Tea, sweet or unsweetened? Artificial sugars? How much? How much do you drink? Are you adequately hydrated?
9) Rice, yes or no? If yes can you also do Tapioca pudding?
10) Meats, yes or no? How are they prepared? Dips, sauces or gravies? Only breaded? Can you do chicken salad? What is the chewiest meat? Beef? Yes, no, how? Sandwiches? Hoagies? Rolls? Buns?
11) Mixed foods, pizza, casseroles, stir fry, rice dishes, noodle dishes? Soups? Salad with toppings? These last two are more complex foods that require more sophisticated skills. It may not be taste, it may be texture is too challenging.
12) How sensitive are you to aromas? Smell of food?
13) Belly pain or tingling sensation in the mouth when you eat? Are some foods too hard to chew? Do you have to push food down? Do you swallow multiple times in a row to get a single bite down? Do you ever throw up in your mouth or back of throat and swallow it back down? GI tract health? Regular? Times of GI distress? Foods you avoid because of negative responses?
14) Can you swallow pills?
15) Snoring, post nasal drip? Restless sleep? Enuresis? Mouth breathing? Lip smacker? Slurp your drinks? Aerophagia? Air swallowing can be a big issue. Does food ever feel stuck? Is chewing and swallowing ever hard to do?
16) Your schedule of intake of liquids and foods? Do you graze? Snack? Or just three meals? Best time of day to eat? Do you eat enough? Are your meals stressful or calm? Weight? Endurance? Volume? Emotional eating or not able to eat when emotional? Enduring or enjoying meals?
17) Your best food memory, who was there, what was served? A bad food experience? How scary was it?

These are just some the many, many things we need to know to truly analyze a diet and complete a Food Chaining Individualied Eating Profile. This information is how we form a plan and make real world and customized Food Chaining goals.

Help the kids feel calm.

Relaxing Music to Relieve Stress, Anxiety and Depression • Mind, Body 🐬 Soothing music for nerves Relaxing Music to Relieve Stress, Anxiety and Depression • Mind, Body 🐬 Soothing music for nervesRelaxing Music to Relieve Stress, Anxiety and Depression • ...

These are the ones I used. https://a.co/d/ftYQni8e

Bartovation Super Taster Test Genetics Lab Kit with Instructions, Phenylthiourea (PTC), Sodium Benzoate [Each Vial Includes 100 Paper Strips] This product is all you need for a demonstration of genetics and heredity. These strips can be used to help determine if a person is a ‘supertester’ and can be used to effectively demonstrate the effects of heredity on taste. Use these strips to determine genotype and phenotype, and use the cont...

https://youtu.be/YF_P1ZzYgjA?si=GKBOeVl3SueDvKDF

Daily Calm | 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation | Forgetting Time Tamara Levitt guides this 10 minute Daily Calm mindfulness meditation. Enjoy an experiential practice that explores the importance of forgetting time.

A friend sent me this! I also didn’t know that you can sign up for my free podcast while shopping on Amazon! I’m on Audible too. Apple, Amazon, iHeart radio, anywhere you get your podcasts. I am at 48 episodes so far.
Jerod, if you ever see this, thank you!

So if someone could get to you by giving you your least favorite food to eat every day for a month, what food would it be?

In Chaining, we study both the 5 least favorite and 5 favorite foods for patterns.

Dave's Killer Bread | Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified Whole Grain Bread

https://www.facebook.com/1051885196/posts/10220648124647000/?d=n Have you tried this bread? I love it. I want to try the hamburger buns.

daveskillerbread.com Dave's Killer Bread is the #1 best-selling organic, whole grain, Non-GMO Project Verified bread available.

Autism Spectrum Disorder - eLuma | Online Speech Therapy

The world is changing and our therapy world is too. Anyone doing online therapy? I posted some links below due to furloughs and closings. Feel free to add more!

https://www.elumatherapy.com/online-speech-therapy/autism-spectrum-disorder/

elumatherapy.com eLuma offers unparalleled online speech therapy solutions for the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as an array of other spectrum related conditions.

Photos from Food Chaining's post