Sharing these resources for you to use as part of your differential and problem-solving when supporting infants and children with feeding and swallowing problems.
The Feeding Flock is an interdisciplinary team partnering with families to advance education, support clinical practice, and collaborate on research related to infant and child feeding challenges.
Through their new website (https://feedingflockteam.org), you can access these tools:
Early Feeding Skills Assessment Tool (EFS)
I developed this infant-guided tool with my nursing colleagues, Suzanne Thoyre RN PhD, and Karen Pridham RN PhD. It is a clinician-reported evidence-based tool with strong psychometric properties. It assesses infant feeding skills & behaviors during bottle or breastfeeding for preterm infants to 6 months. There are 19 items and 5 subscales: Respiratory Regulation, Oral-Motor Function, Swallowing Coordination, Engagement, and Physiologic Stability. An excellent guide to cue-based infant-guided feeding in the NICU and beyond.
Neonatal Eating Assessment Tool (NeoEAT)
- Measures feeding skills & behaviors during bottle and/or breastfeeding
- 0-6 months
- Parent-reported assessment tool
Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool (PediEAT)
- Measures infant & child feeding behaviors during liquid and solid food feeding
- 6 months to 7 years
- Parent-reported assessment tool
Child Oral and Motor Proficiency Scale (ChOMPS)
- Measures observable eating, drinking & related motor skills relied upon for solid food eating
- 6 months to 7 years
- Parent-reported assessment tool
Impact of Feeding on the Parent and Family Scales (Feeding Impact Scales)
- Measures the impact of the child’s feeding on parent & family
- Birth to 18 years
- Parent-reported assessment tool
Family Management Measure of Feeding (FaMM Feed)
- Measures how families manage their child’s feeding difficulty
- Birth to 18 years
- Parent-reported assessment tool