Two LENDs Coming Together
July 1, 2013
The Nv LEND choose a leadership project to explore the effectiveness of feeding interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and neurodevelopment conditions across the lifespan. The team consists of four trainees and four faculty members from disciplines as follows: two in child psychiatry, two in nutrition and dietetics, infant specialaist, occupational therapy, school psychology, and speech pathology were represented. The leadership project had three main objectives:
- Critically appraise the evidence to support interventions and accommodations for successful feeding practices in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions. A comprehensive literature review was completed by the team and presented as a poster session at the AUCD 2012 Conference.
- Increase personal knowledge and professional efficacy in the area of feeding challenges within a transdisciplinary family-centered model. The team is involved in several presentations across the State of Nevada, focusing on early intervention and health care professionals.
- Participate in strategic planning and program development for the NvLEND Feeding Team. The long-term vision is to develop a feeding team with clinical assessment and intervention in the State of Nevada. As part of the strategic planning process, our team was able to travel to Southern California in February 2013 to visit CA-LEND Program at the USC UCEDD.
The CA-LEND which is part of the Pac-West Regional Group observed many clinics and trainee learning activities. This article will highlight learning experiences that are valuable in the future development of the NvLEND feeding team.
Observing the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Assessment Clinic and Feeding Clinic at USC was a fantastic learning experience. The team included professionals many students, interns, and trainees. While the group learned a great deal of technical information about early childhood assessment and feeding problems, some of the lessons learned were unexpected ones. It was fascinating to see that the members of the Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Assessment Clinic take turns leading the clinic. In this way, the responsibility is shared, the team avoids the potential problem of professionals not sharing openly due to hierarchical dynamics, and everyone has a chance to build their leadership skills.
The group was able to have a complete learning experience utilizing the USC state of the art technology. Cameras within the assessment rooms can be controlled by a central unit in a conference room. Although there were two-way mirrors in the rooms as well, there were a large number of professionals serving on the teams. Some were able to observe a single child through the two-way mirror, while others could observe in the conference room. This allowed more professionals to view the child's assessment and even watch multiple assessments simultaneously.
In addition to technical information about feeding, the members of the USC Feeding Clinic demonstrated to us the importance of debriefing. They created a very simple yet powerful framework for describing the primary challenges of the child, in relation to feeding. After the comprehensive assessment, which is completed over several sessions rather than within one day, ample time is given to debrief with the parents. This enables the parents and caretakers to understand and digest all the information given by the professionals. A social worker is assigned to each family, and serves as a liaison between the team and family, as well as providing resources and support to the family. It was evident that the social workers had developed strong relationships with the families, and that all team members took the time to learn about the child and family dynamics.
A high point of the visit was the "Snack and Play" therapy group. The 12-week curriculum incorporates the aspects of feeding treatment within the framework of a play group; enriching the feeding therapy with social interaction, positive reinforcement, and fun. The eating activities in "Snack and Play" support the development of social skills. This is an excellent treatment method since eating throughout our lives and society is most often in the context of social interaction. Parents were included during part of the session, thus allowing family-centered treatment. This type of feeding therapy group is most certainly something that the group would like to offer in their future Nevada feeding clinic.
It was truly remarkable how open and welcoming all the members of CA-LEND and USC clinic were during the visit. The trainees found the visit, a delightful experience during which they were able to meet and build relationships with dedicated and highly knowledgeable people in thier own fields, as well as in other disciplines. Beyond the qualifications and experience there appeared to be an inherent knowing about families. Already the team members have begun to utilize the practice of shared leadership in our professional roles, as we participate on a variety of multi-disciplinary teams. As NvLEND faculty members, we were able to have interesting and motivating experiences that will have a lasting effect on the leadership project and program planning for an interdisciplinary feeding clinic serving Nevada children and their families.
They would like to make a special mention of Hope Wills, MA, RD, CSP, CLN, LEND Nutrition Faculty and Patrice Yasuda, PhD, LEND Training Director that coordinated and made this shared learning opportunity possible.
