Parent Testimonial | Parents of Elias

Eating birthday cake at a party for the first time!

After our son was diagnosed with autism in December of 2018, it was a challenge figuring out how to best support him and what supports he needed. From the time we started introducing foods to Elias during his first year, it was hard. We would give him cheerios when he was a year old, and he would choke on them. We tried and again and again and the same result. He always preferred softer foods. Eventually at around 2.5 years old the only thing we could get him to eat was yogurt pouches and baby food pouches. He ate like that for a year, and I would get frustrated going to our doctor and all they would say is to continue to try and put foods in front of him. I knew it had to be more than just being picky with foods. 

I found Carol Elliott at Pediatric Feeding Services, and we scheduled an evaluation. After our initial appointment, she referred us to ENT due to concerns about mouth breathing, as well as a tongue tie that appeared to affect his ability to chew and swallow whole food. Things were coming together and starting to make sense to us.  We had his adenoids removed and his tongue tie released.  After that, the real journey began!  We had to start with learning how to sit in a seat and accept a spoon (not just a pouch) along with other pureed foods and to drink from a variety of straws and cups.  We worked on oral motor exercises and specific techniques to teach him how to chew.  It was A LOT of hard work with ups and downs, but after 3 years of working with Carol, Elias’ progress has been amazing!  He now knows how to chew!! He will try new foods and will pretty much eat anything!  He’s not even picky! I highly recommend Carol Elliott if your child is struggling with eating.

Hugs on graduation day!

Crunching on a veggie straw after much practice.

Eating and loving mac and cheese

Banana bread and a fork!

Parent Testimonial | Tanner's Mom

Graduation day! Celebrating with cup cakes!

When we first reached out to Carol to help our son, Tanner, we were no strangers to feeding challenges. We had we been through the gauntlet with our older child’s early feeding issues and came out successfully thanks to feeding therapy. We were also quite familiar with feeding issues, as I provided behavioral support within a comprehensive feeding therapy program for several years. Even with our previous experiences both personally and professionally, we needed help and Carol stepped up to the task. During the initial assessment, we learned that Tanner was not chewing correctly due to a tricky tongue tie. She connected us with pediatric dentists and supported us through preparation and aftercare of this procedure (even coming to our house on a Saturday when I called her in a panic to assure me I was performing the exercises correctly). Tanner’s eating took off and much to our relief, the stress around meals began to subside. 

“Carol’s expertise in evidence-based feeding treatment, in combination with her creativity and unwavering patience seem to be the recipe for success that enables her to connect with kids and to support parents along the journey as well.”

— Quote Source

Week after week, Carol appeared at our home greeting us with a bright smile and an enthusiastic, “Hello!”. We worked together to identify goals and a treatment plan that would work with our family dynamics, parenting styles, and mealtime logistics.

I could go on and on, but I think Tanner’s actions may speak for themselves. For the first few sessions, when things got tough, Tanner would turn to Carol and say, “Bye Bye! Bye Bye!”, while pointing insistently at the door. As we all got into the rhythm of treatment and everyone’s confidence increased, Tanner started waiting by the window each week and squealed with delight, “Ms. Carol coming! Time to eat!”. We knew we ready to graduate from feeding therapy when one night during dinner, Tanner looked down at his plate and announced he was “all done”, and it wasn’t because he was refusing to eat. He had actually finished his meal! He asked me to take a picture. He was so proud of himself for eating his meatballs, carrots, and oranges and he wanted to share his success with his good friend, Ms. Carol.

“All done with meatballs, carrots and oranges”

Parent Testimonial | Parents of Eli

Feeding was never a struggle we envisioned having with our child. Therefore, when our son started having difficulties with progressing beyond pureed baby foods and bottled milk, we naturally turned to our pediatrician for guidance. He referred us to a local Occupational Therapist with a specialty for helping children with texture issues manifested as feeding difficulties. After all, most of his issues were with vomiting when new foods/textures were introduced. Unfortunately, they were unable to produce a worthwhile treatment plan. After 6 months of watching them try to teach our son to play with food and maybe lick some of it as well, we grew weary of the prescribed treatment plan, and sought another professional.

“What we found has truly been nothing short of a miracle. Carol has been an absolute angel for our son. She immediately recognized that his struggles were not attributable to texture issues and new foods, but rather due to a failed development in his ability to properly chew. She immediately crafted a detailed care plan that began to change our lives…and his!”

— Mom and Dad of Eli

Our son was just over 2 years old when we started working with the Occupational Therapist referred by our pediatrician. And after 6 months of endless battles to eat solid food, recurring bouts of projectile vomiting, and an overwhelming sense of defeat, Carol came in and made believers out of us! After just over a year of therapy with Carol, our son is no longer avoiding meals, but asking for them! He is no longer fighting us on every bite, but rather feeding himself! He no longer eats pureed foods, but a variety of foods including pastas, French fries, potatoes, noodles, meats, candies, vegetables, fruits, pie, and so much more! We shared Thanksgiving dinner together and he ate everything (stuffing, turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, etc)! He was able to eat his first bite of birthday cake EVER for his 3rd birthday! So many tear-jerking moments seeing him progress so quickly with the help and guidance that Carol provided.

Above all else, Carol has been extremely accommodating throughout the pandemic, and respectfully masks and sanitizes when in our home. She traveled to see our boy and held virtual sessions when needed. She has been kind to our boy, understanding with our entire family, and supportive for my wife and I. Honestly, I don’t know where we would be today, or how we would be coping with the ongoing struggles had we not began working with Carol. It is without hesitation that we absolutely recommend Carol to anyone experiencing feeding challenges with their child.

"Ms. Carol is amazing and so kind! She changed my life!" - Avery, 10 years old

“Ms. Carol is amazing and so kind! She changed my life! I used to be SO scared to try new foods and Ms. Carol helped me learn how to not be so scared. Without her, I never would have tried apples, my mom’s BBQ chicken pizza or Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, but now they are three of my favorite foods. I don’t know what I would have done without her and I’m so thankful that I worked with her.”

At age 9 Avery avoided sleepovers, sitting at the Thanksgiving table and dreamed of attending overnight camp. Her only obstacle was food. Avery had extreme anxiety when faced with new food and ate a diet limited to her preferred carbs. Although, super nervous, she worked hard on her eating homework and six months into therapy she was confidently eating foods from all food groups and loving them! This past summer she was finally able to go to sleepover camp for the first time. On her second day there, she sent this note to her parents and requested chicken pizza and roasted broccoli for her first meal back home.

Note Avery sent from her first time at camp to her parents.

Eating her new favorite foods. Mom’s BBQ chicken pizza and roasted broccoli

Kelly - Mother of Avery - We are so glad that we discovered Carol Elliott to help our daughter. After years of being told that she would outgrow her picky eating, Carol helped us to discover the underlying causes, including anxiety and some physical issues and to address all of them so Avery could learn to love a variety of healthy foods. Avery developed a rapport with Carol after their first meeting because she is so patient, calm and positive. As their relationship developed, so did Avery’s list of preferred foods. She now loves to help me plan our weekly menu and she’s excited about trying new recipes. Carol is such a wonderful resource for struggling families and we are forever grateful for the time that she shared her gifts with our daughter.