It’s my day at the feeding clinic. (We call it Eating School.) It’s about 2 and I’ve already watched them feed Ira three different times. One more to go this afternoon. Here’s how the feeding sessions go down:
The session begins with Ira choosing a toy and a book. The feeding therapist then straps Ira in a high chair. The strapping mechanism is like a car seat and they treat it as such in that Ira is so secure that he can hardly move. Then the feeding begins.
Ira opens his mouth just fine and allows the therapist to enter his mouth with a spoon. The problem is the tongue. Ira retracts his tongue in an effort to defend his airway. And when he doesn’t retract it, the tongue is hardened. Neither retraction nor hardening of the tongue is good. And so for now Ira’s tongue is the main focus in these sessions. They aren’t worried about the mouth closing or swallowing at this juncture. In fact, there is very little substance on the spoon at all.
With one hand the therapist holds Ira’s chin and says, “flat tongue.” She waits for Ira’s tongue to go flat and then lays the spoon on top of the tongue. She does this thirty times. In between each “bite” Ira is allowed to play with a toy or look at a book. But just for a second. And then the therapist says, “my turn.”
The therapist gives high-fives and shouts “good job” after every bite. Ira’s loves it. And for the most part, he does really well. After the second feeding today, the therapist told me that his tongue is softening. And only after two days!
I witness all this standing in a hall while looking through a one way window. There are two other rooms where therapists are working with kids. Those parents are standing at their windows as well. The two doctors of the clinic go from window to window explaining what the feeding therapists are attempting to accomplish. I’m very impressed with the program.
What I’m not so impressed with is Paterson, NJ. Ugh. It is Paterson and other cities in NJ like it (think Trenton) that earn NJ the moniker The Armpit of the US. But within this black-eye of a city lies the feeding clinic that is successfully teaching children of all types what most of us take for granted. And for that, Paterson and the clinic will always have a place in my heart.
Welcome to the blog of Joe Hays, minister for Christ's Church for Brooklyn. We are a loving community of believers who seek to be the hands and feet of Christ, in service to our neighbors in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn and beyond.
Recent Comments