A $4 million donation to CHOP's feeding center means more families can receive services

May 1—Amanda Seiple watches in disbelief as her 3-year-old son, Wyatt, eats a small bowl of roughly blended steamed mixed veggies. Earlier this year, that was unimaginable.

"Getting him to eat even baby food like puree was very challenging and difficult," Seiple, from Levittown, said. "He would gag, throw up."

In February, Wyatt started a treatment program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for kids who have difficulty eating. Things started to change quickly, and now as summer nears, Wyatt can even enjoy a peach.

"We probably still have a lot to go, like getting him to really eating solid foods," Seiple said, "but he's made so much progress in the last couple of months. It's kind of crazy."

More families like the Seiples will be able to get help with critical feeding problems for their children after CHOP received a $4 million gift to expand its feeding center. Though tiny compared to the $130 million CHOP attracted in contributions in 2022, the funding will lead to meaningful change at the feeding center, doctors said.

"It's truly a transformational gift," said Sherri Cohen, a pediatrician and the medical director of the newly named Martha Escoll Lubeck Feeding and Swallowing Center.

The donation from the Escoll-Lubeck Charitable Foundation, run by a Florida family with Philadelphia ties, will enable the program to see more patients and train more providers who specialize in feeding issues.

Unlike eating disorders, children with feeding disorders don't have body image problems but have a range of issues — medical, behavioral, developmental — that makes it difficult for them to eat. About one in 37 children under 5 in the United States has a feeding disorder, making the issue as common as autism or eating disorders.

CHOP's feeding center brings together medical providers, psychologists, and social workers to develop personalized plans for patients. It's a mix of providers with expertise that can otherwise be difficult to find in one place.

"The number of pediatric psychologists who are trained in feeding is extremely small," Cohen said. "That's what our families are unable to find in the community."

A team effort

The center's patients come with a range of issues: premature babies who must learn how to eat without a feeding tube, older children who are so picky that they aren't getting the nutrients they need. Others have congenital heart disease or other medical issues that "can take feeding off the rails."

As a feeding center situated in the poorest of the large cities in America, CHOP also sees children whose families suffer from food insecurity. Children might need to be exposed to certain food 20 or 30 times before they accept it. And when fresh foods are unaffordable or inaccessible near the home, it makes it less likely that a child will be exposed.

"It's really something a lot of our families struggle with," she said.

Cohen and her colleagues were among the first to identify the common thread in these cases — an inability to eat in a way most other children their age can — and develop diagnosis standards in 2019.

At the center, physicians like Cohen work with nutritionists, feeding specialists, and psychologists to evaluate patients and come up with a treatment plan. If there is a medical source of discomfort that prevents a child from eating, such as reflux, the medical providers will try to address that first. But often the treatment is focused on the feeding and eating process.

The donation will allow the center to see more patients and expand their research program. But Cohen is especially excited about a new training program that the gift will pay for. Every year, CHOP will train a psychologist to become an expert in feeding issues.

Wyatt's transformation

Wyatt's doctors couldn't explain — or fix — his difficulty swallowing. They checked for an obstruction to his esophagus, enrolled him in speech therapy, occupational therapy, and early intervention. Nothing helped.

Seiple had nearly lost hope when Wyatt was finally referred to CHOP's feeding center. The first step was a comprehensive assessment of Wyatt, his eating, the food he is served, and the family's routines.

Then, for the first couple of days, Wyatt worked alone with a feeding therapist. A family member would watch how the therapist fed him and what they said to him as encouragement. Next, a family member would come in and do the feeding while supervised.

Wyatt learned that he needed to finish his food and slowly adapted to other consistencies. He gets small measured portions of different foods in little bowls. He has toys that he knows are waiting for him at the end of the meal.

Wyatt graduated from the program early, but the work isn't over. But Seiple is hopeful and credits CHOP. Her son still "hates" broccoli — but hey, he's 3.

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