Methods and systems for treatment of feeding disorders

Abstract

Methods and systems for treatment of feeding disorders in individuals by a multidisciplinary 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 assessing one or more feeding behaviors in a subject, comprising the steps of:
 determining an appropriate assessment type for a subject based on subject data;   receiving assessment data based on an observation, wherein the observation is based on the appropriate assessment type;   determining if additional assessment is appropriate, wherein the additional assessment is appropriate if the assessment data does not meet one or more predefined rules;   upon determining that the additional assessment is not appropriate, determining an intervention program; and   assigning the subject to the intervention program.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
 transmitting an evaluation to a caregiver of the subject;   receiving evaluation data from the caregiver, wherein the evaluation data comprises subject data and is based on the evaluation; and   determining that the subject is eligible for the intervention program based on one or more eligibility rules.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the evaluation is transmitted to a caregiver electronic computing device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the evaluation comprises a plurality of questions related to the subject. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more eligibility rules comprises criteria for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the one or more eligibility rules comprises criteria for oral motor skills. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising the steps of:
 determining a referral to a provider is not appropriate for the subject.   
     
     
         8 . A system for assessing one or more feeding behaviors in a subject, comprising:
 an electronic computing device; and   a feeding management system configured to: 
 determine an appropriate assessment type for a subject based on subject data; 
 receive assessment data based on an observation, wherein the observation is based on the appropriate assessment type; 
 determine if additional assessment is appropriate, wherein the additional assessment is appropriate if the assessment data does not meet one or more predefined rules; 
 upon determining that the additional assessment is not appropriate, determine an intervention program; and 
 assign the subject to the intervention program. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the feeding management system is further configured to:
 receive the subject data, wherein the subject data comprises a patient file for the subject.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the observation is completed by one or more practitioners. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the observation is completed at a location familiar to the subject. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the observation comprises a feeding session completed by a caregiver of the subject. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the appropriate assessment type is based at least in part on a severity associated with the one or more feeding behaviors. 
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by at least one computing device, cause the at least one computing device to:
 determine an appropriate assessment type for a subject based on subject data;   receive assessment data based on an observation, wherein the observation is based on the appropriate assessment type;   determine if additional assessment is appropriate, wherein the additional assessment is appropriate if the assessment data does not meet one or more predefined rules;   upon determining that the additional assessment is not appropriate, determine an intervention program; and   assign the subject to the intervention program.   
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the assessment data comprises meal structure data. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the assessment data comprises caregiver data. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the assessment data comprises subject response data. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the observation comprises identifying one or more potential reinforcers. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the observation comprises identifying one more foods for the intervention program. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the observation comprises identifying one or more therapeutic support devices.