The Gerber Foundation and Anchor Center for Blind Children
are partnering on
a research project to determine how vision impairments affect feeding
development in children from birth to age 3.
Feeding/eating concerns are among the most common challenges reported by
parents of young children who are blind, visually impaired and deafblind.
Without visual cues to establish feeding time as a pleasant experience, some
children have issues related to texture, willingness to try a variety of
foods and willingness to eat. If not resolved, these problems can impact
nutritional habits into adulthood, requiring feeding clinics or other
interventions.
The three-year study will identify the points at which the feeding/eating
process breaks down. Researchers will also create a Functional Feeding
Assessment, a tool for families, therapists and nutritionists to help
children achieve independent eating and enjoyable mealtimes.
Conference Papers
Information Sheet
A Texture Continuum
Scents
Sources for Products
References
For more information, contact Cathy Smyth at cathysmyth@yahoo.com,
Carol Spicer at clspicy@comcast.net, or Zoe Morgese at
zlmorgese@comcast.net.
Gerber Foundation
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