Methods and systems for treatment of feeding disorders

Abstract

Methods and systems for treatment of feeding disorders in individuals by a multi-disciplinary team comprising medical, behavioral, nutritional, and oral-motor skill professionals and/or specialists. For example, in one embodiment, a subject may go through treatment that comprises four phases/process: screening, assessment, intervention, and discharge. The screening process may determine the subject's eligibility for the treatment. The assessment process may establish a baseline from which the specific treatment is determined. The intervention process generally implements the treatment through daily “doses” of treatment meal sessions. The discharge process may ensure that the treatment gains made during the intervention phase are carried into the subject's daily life.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating one or more feeding behaviors in a subject, comprising the steps of:
 screening a subject for one or more feeding behaviors;   assessing the subject to determine a particular intervention by comparing the one or more feeding behaviors observed during screening with one or more predefined rules;   conducting the particular intervention, wherein the particular intervention comprises at least one meal session during which a feeder presents food to the subject and records intervention data; and   discharging the subject from care, if additional intervention is deemed not appropriate, wherein additional intervention is deemed not appropriate if the intervention data does not meet one or more predefined guidelines.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein discharging the subject comprises the steps of:
 providing instructions related to the subject;   conducting a generalized intervention based on the instructions; and   determining a discharge plan based on the generalized intervention.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein assessing the subject comprises the steps of:
 determining an appropriate assessment type based on the screening; and   conducting an observation based on the appropriate assessment type.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising the steps of:
 determining if an additional assessment is appropriate based on the observation; and   upon determining that the additional assessment is appropriate, conducting the additional assessment.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the observation is completed by one or more practitioners. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the observation comprises a feeding session completed by a caregiver of the subject. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the appropriate assessment type is based at least in part on a severity associated with the one or more feeding behaviors. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the screening comprises the steps of:
 transmitting an evaluation to a caregiver electronic computing device;   receiving evaluation data from the caregiver electronic computing device, wherein the evaluation data is based on the evaluation; and   determining that the one or more feeding behaviors are present in the subject.   
     
     
         9 . A system for treating one or more feeding behaviors in a subject, comprising:
 an electronic computing device; and   a feeding management system configured to:
 screen a subject for one or more feeding behaviors; 
 assess the subject to determine a particular intervention by comparing the one or more feeding behaviors observed during screening with one or more predefined rules; 
 conduct the particular intervention, wherein the particular intervention comprises at least one meal session during which a feeder presents food to the subject and records intervention data; and 
 discharge the subject from care, if additional intervention is deemed not appropriate, wherein additional intervention is deemed not appropriate if the intervention data does not meet one or more predefined guidelines. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein conducting the particular intervention further comprises:
 performing a comparison of the intervention data to the one or more predefined rules; and   modifying the one or more predefined rules based on the comparison.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one meal session comprises an oral-motor session. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the particular intervention comprises an inpatient intervention or an outpatient intervention. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more feeding behaviors comprises food refusal or food selectivity. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more feeding behaviors comprises choking, gagging, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, oral-motor deficiencies, or tantrums. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by at least one computing device, causes the at least one computing device to:
 screen a subject for one or more feeding behaviors;   assess the subject to determine a particular intervention by comparing the one or more feeding behaviors observed during screening with one or more predefined rules;   conduct the particular intervention, wherein the particular intervention comprises at least one meal session during which a feeder presents food to the subject and records intervention data; and   discharging the subject from care, if additional intervention is deemed not appropriate, wherein additional intervention is deemed not appropriate if the intervention data does not meet one or more predefined guidelines.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the intervention data comprises an acceptance response or a disruption response by the subject. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein acceptance response comprises at least half of a feeding utensil entering the subject's mouth. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the disruption response comprises the subject turning its head away, the subject pushing away a feeding utensil, or the subject pushing away the feeder's hand. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the food comprises a plurality of food items with a plurality of textures. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the intervention data comprises an amount of the food consumed by the subject.