Supporter Spring 2021
Helping families power through mealtime
Mealtimes can be one of the most challenging times of the day for families with children.
foods and drinks, transitioning them through various aspects of play. Children start by tolerating various foods in their space and slowly build to interacting with it, touching it and eventually tasting it. This involves activities from balancing fruit on their nose and tongue, to playing tug-of-war with lolly snakes between their own hand and mouth. While the unique methods of SOS can go against conventional wisdom, it is the only results-driven feeding program with 30 years of proven clinical experience. Not only does the program support children grow with their ability to actually interact with food; it empowers parents to be able to implement certain strategies at home.
While most of us think of eating as a two-step process of ‘see food, eat food’, it can involve more than 32 steps and is the most complex thing we do as humans. It is the only thing that involves all of our sensory systems, organs, muscles and learning history. AnglicareSA’s food school works with children with feeding difficulties to make mealtime a fun and safe experience. The program is based on the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to eating, developed in the US by a team of psychologists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and nutritionists. At food school, our specially trained occupational therapists and speech pathologists present the children with
Six -year-old Ted’s story is a perfect example of how food school has totally transformed his family’s challenges. “Ted didn’t eat any food until he was about 10 months. He had a really strong gag reflex and had some food allergies that made him vomit a lot,” said Cheryl, Ted’s mother. “He’s amazing now –he will try new things and not really have a problem with that. It’s a completely less stressful experience eating at home as a family now. “It is a really effective way of learning about eating.” In the no pressure environment of food school, Ted’s family and others learn that eating does not simply begin with the mouth and that mealtimes are opportunities to learn and explore.
AnglicareSA’s food school will be running in the upcoming Spring school holidays (September 26 –October 11). For more information or to enrol, please email amy.francesca@anglicaresa.com.au
Blanket Adelaide With Love
In early August, CityLight Church in North Adelaide appealed to the local community to donate winter items and bring warmth to people in need.
All new items from the drive were provided to AnglicareSA’s emergency assistance program, while other good quality pre-loved items are being distributed through CityLight’s support networks. This generous initiative is a great example of how parishes contribute to our work through independent community engagement projects.
The donation drive, dubbed ‘Blanket Adelaide With Love’, saw more than 75 people donate various winter warmers, from sleeping bags through to much- needed socks and underwear. Since the completion of the drive, a further 17 people have been in contact with organisers and dropped off more donations. Many donors were from beyond the CityLight Church community.
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