Become a patient

The Feeding, Swallowing and Nutrition Program at Children's Wisconsin takes a truly individualized approach to treat every child.

Find more details on what to expect in your first appointment with our Feeding team, so you and your child are ready for your appointment by reviewing this infographic. 

For medical professionals considering referring a patient to our program: please see our referral guide to learn more about the conditions we treat, the referral process and more.

For patient families: While treatment plans vary, our team of specialists has developed a typical treatment path that will guide your child's care in our clinic. Learn more about what to expect from your first Feeding team appointment and the types of treatment paths below.

We will have your child's medical records sent to us, and your family will fill out informational forms prior to the first appointment. We like to hit the ground running when it comes to getting your child healthy, and that means gathering as much information as early in the process as possible.

Our team then makes an initial assessment based on the medical history provided. We determine what tests, if any, are necessary (such as blood work, radiology, endoscopy, etc.) and what initial treatments meet your child's needs. Our goal with this initial assessment is to help identify any potential medical issues that need to be addressed before moving forward with further evaluations, therapies or treatments.

If your family is traveling from out of state to visit our clinic, we may contact you by phone before this visit to gather additional information. This helps to ensure that the Feeding Program is the appropriate clinic for your child.

Your family arrives at our clinic and your child has his or her vitals recorded to ensure we have the most accurate information on file. This will also help to track progress during treatment.

Your family meets with the team nurse. A team member verifies all the medical information we have is up to date and addresses any preliminary questions you may have about the appointment.

Your family and child will meet with the dietician, speech language pathologist, psychologist and gastroenterologist all together to review goals.
 

The team will observe your child eat a meal. Afterwards, the team will provide their assessment and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
 

Our team compiles the assessment and determines the best path of care. This treatment plan will be highly individualized to your child, and may include components such as mealtime scheduling, medication and/or additional medical workup. For the safety and wellbeing of the child, if medical workup was recommended this would need to be completed before further therapies can be scheduled.

One of your team members will recap the meeting and review the plan with you and your family to ensure next steps are understood. A personalized letter is provided to you at the end of the visit which captures everything that was discussed.

Once the team has determined a treatment plan, it is time to work with your family to put your child’s plan into action.

You can learn more about the various treatment types below. During this time, your child will need the support and encouragement of his or her family the most. Change can be hard, especially for kids, so it is important for your child to understand that these changes are necessary for his or her health and happiness.