Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Presented by Feed Matters with host Jacqueline
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Peterson and Dr. Haley Estrom.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: Feeding does matter.
[00:00:13] Speaker B: So I was kind of thinking like, maybe we just start with how you even got involved because was it Shannon that called you or Chris?
[00:00:23] Speaker A: It was Shannon who originally approached me, but it's because I saw two of the other families.
I had met two of the other families.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:00:38] Speaker A: And so I did not actually see the triplets until after I had worked with the two other families.
[00:00:47] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: And so I worked with Chris's family. And then I remember Christians very clearly. I don't for the life of me remember his mom's name.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Gina.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: Is that Gina? Okay, Gina.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: I, I, I know one of the moms. I don't know the other mom.
[00:01:07] Speaker A: So, so I had met the two other families. Two of the, the four families.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Right.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: And then I was invited by Shannon. So I was one of those professionals that went as involved very, very early on.
And we, they brought a few of us into Arizona. And so we had our first meeting at Chris's. Not. Well, I think actually was Shannon's favorite restaurant. It's Mexican restaurant.
And so our first meeting was actually at a Mexican restaurant.
And so that's, that's where I got involved. It was kind of an informal meeting initially when Chris and Shannon especially were really trying to make a decision about where were they going to go with the organization. Were they going to set up a non for profit? What would that look like?
I remember them just being very cautious because they were concerned about being parents and parents trying to make that connection between parents and professionals and then trying to create an organization that would stand in that gap.
And so that's some of what I remember from early, early on in those initial meetings.
And I couldn't even tell you why I was down there. There was a couple of different meetings that we had. And so when I came into town, I would typically meet with them.
So we, we had some other kind of conference going on. We would get together.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: It was really, Shannon and Chris were the big drivers, but the four of them worked on it together and very closely and, and they were all super committed to trying to find the best services possible.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: That's amazing. And you're right. I mean, I. Cause I came in later than you, but there was always this feeling of like, we know we're parents, we know we have a lot to contribute, but we don't want to step on toes or we still want to respect the professionals. And I feel like 20 years ago in medicine, it's so different now. There is more of that understanding of kind of the co learning that happens.
But it sounded like you all gave them the confidence to be able to say, no, you have a voice here.
[00:03:47] Speaker A: Well, and I think that they had just such a passion and a drive for trying to find the best services for their children and especially to get the best services for kids in the, you know, the Phoenix area in Arizona. And it felt like they were really trying to create a collaboration not just between the professionals and the parents in the Arizona area, but I think they were also really trying to reach out to people who were from outside the Arizona area who could hopefully provide some additional education to the people in Phoenix. And this book.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: Yes, say what you've got.
[00:04:44] Speaker A: What you're holding up right now is from 2008.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: 2008, 2008. So we're two years old at that point.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: So this is the initial conference that. That we did September 18, 2008.
And so that is actually, I think, the very first.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it had to have been the
[00:05:10] Speaker A: first conference that was put on by
[00:05:14] Speaker B: Popsicle center in partnership with our local children's hospital at Phoenix and Development.
[00:05:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Yep. And so the.
The conference committee was Joan Arvidsson, Julie Bender, Joy Brown, Elizabeth Fisher, Midge Kirby, Aaron Ross and Colin Rudolph were the major people who were on that planning committee.
And so all of those people presented in that agenda.
And so I can, I can even show you.
I don't. I don't know if Feeding Matters has copies of these, so we have some.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: It's funny because we've been trying to prepare for this.
And so we have, like, some copies of, like, different, like, historical documents. We've tried to, like, keep things. And what has always struck me about our history and evolution has been the language that's included in a lot of, like, the conference documents and how agendas had.
It's always been a confusing subject to be able to try to raise awareness for something that was called 10 different things that we then tried to say, okay, it's pfd. And then like, now where we are today with really wanting people to understand kind of all feeding disorders in general, including how it may transition into arfid. And so it's. It's been an interesting. Because I think even that conference was titled. Was it titled Pediatric Feeding Disturbances?
[00:06:49] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. So the language for me has been really interesting to think about.
[00:06:54] Speaker A: We didn't have a name, and this one was actually at Phoenix Children's Hospital, that very first one.
So. And. And I'm trying to remember when the video came out so the, the. The mom created the Popsicle video and I still show that video in my courses when we have time to do. It can be challenging to find the time because it's almost 10 minutes long. It's a little over nine minutes long.
But it is a really, incredibly powerful video because each of the moms speaks to their story and their experience of trying to get services for their children.
And to me, that was one of the really, really valuable things that came out of Popsicle because to me, that video really gave the parents a voice and helped the professionals that I was showing the video to.
Just what that emotional experience is as a parent with a child who isn't eating well.
And for many of the professionals who watch that video, I think it was the first time they really looked at the parents perspective from an emotional connectedness standpoint.
I think as professionals we can, because we're obviously want to be very professional about our boundaries with families that we sometimes get into that mode where we're so analytical.
Yeah. And we're so focused on the diagnosis and what's this thing that needs to be done and that thing to be done.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: And you kind of have to check your emotion at the door sometimes to be able to make the decisions you're making.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: Right. But that in that process, we sometimes lose that parent voice and just how difficult it is to live day in and day out, you know, and we always talk about what do parents do day in and day out multiple times a day, where they have the privilege of feeling like a failure.
And when you have a child who doesn't eat, that's your experience over and over is, I can't make this work. Why can't I make this work? And me. The video that came out of Popsicle originally was really showcased. It really spoke to that. And so that, that, that's a big, powerful memory for me as, as well as the, the early courses, you know, the, in the early meetings, it was about, okay, who. Who are people?
[00:09:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Because you all helped Chris and Shannon think about it differently. We originally were thinking, you know, let's. They. They were originally thinking let's have a feeding clinic or do something here in Phoenix. But you all said this is an issue that is broader than that and think bigger. And I think you all should be credited with helping them think bigger about how to make sure everybody comes to the table.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: I agree. Initially they really were looking at how do we get better services in Phoenix.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: And, and how do we bring in education into the Phoenix area.
But as part of that Process. It was like. But your voice is. This is the voice that all parents have. Your experience is the same experience that all of our families have, whether we're from Colorado or Wisconsin, you know, where. Where Joan and Colin were from, it didn't matter what state in the US you were from. And then, of course, as you guys became more internationally recognized, we saw that it's the same challenge for the families. No matter where in the world the family is living, all the families are
[00:11:08] Speaker B: united by a very similar experience.
And for an issue that is so heterogeneous, it's really fascinating to see how many experiences are very similar. No matter location, geography, culture, all families can relate to that feeling of failure and not accessing services.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Right. And feeling like that we don't have a complete understanding of what the issues are and a really good way to find the correct services for my particular child. Because every child is unique, every family is unique, and there's no one approach that's going to work for every family.
But if we don't have a way to help the parents see what the broad perspective is and what the full variety of approaches are, and to help give the parents a way to educate themselves about what is going to work best for them and their child, they're going to end up going down one path that maybe isn't necessarily the best path for them and their children. And I think that was each of the mom's experience, is that they were doing the best they could with the information they were being. Being given.
[00:12:42] Speaker B: Right.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: By professionals they were working with. And on the flip side of that, the professionals they were working with were doing the best job they could, given that they were coming from a singular perspective.
And that, I think, is really clear. We talk today about how, as professionals, we tend to exist in our own silos, but when.
When you look at what it was like in 2007, when we were starting these meetings, I mean, I don't even know how to describe it, because we weren't operating in our own silos, we were operating in our own worlds.
[00:13:24] Speaker B: Yeah, that's true. It's not just.
[00:13:26] Speaker A: And we were not even considering the existence of other perspectives. And not only was there not a consideration that there were other perspectives, there was a lot of territoriality that was going on, and people feeling like this is not, you know, where you should be looking, you know, you. It was.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: It was like kind of stay in your lane sort of thing on silo and.
[00:14:00] Speaker A: And you shouldn't take that bigger perspective.
But with feeding, you have to.
[00:14:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it's crazy to think of a world where that's the case because we know how complex it is now. And collaboration is so centered in the discussion now. Right.
[00:14:18] Speaker A: And so I think families used to.
And it all depended on where they started in the process.
[00:14:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: As they used to have their child perceived as alum.
They used to have their child perceived as a GI tract.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: It was rare in 2007 that we looked at food sensitivities as playing a significant role, and yet we know it plays a huge role. So we didn't even have kids who were being considered as an immune system, you know, or your child is a mouth, and so everything starts at the mouth. Or your child is a motor system.
And so people are looking there.
And when you only look at the child as one thing, so many other things get missed.
And that's something that I felt like each of the moms brought to the table, literally and figuratively, that that was why I felt like it was so important to support their mission and their idea and their voice and what and where they wanted to go, because I felt like they had that lived experience of, this is. This is a whole child. My child is a whole child.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Right. Like, you may be only looking at the lung, but we are going home and we are a whole child and a whole family.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: Exactly.
And part of my whole child is my whole family.
This impacts their siblings, this impacts my marriage, this impacts my job.
All of it impacts how we live day to day.
And that, I think, was really a missing piece, because like I said, we as professionals in our different disciplines, we're living in our own world. And. And the parents were on their own world as well.
And so it was very hard to create that collaboration. And that's something that I see Popsicle and Feeding Matters has really, really done over the years, is the continual bringing people together and getting people to talk to one another.
[00:16:44] Speaker B: Because it's not easy. I mean, in those early, especially early days, if you were living in your own rabbit hole, those collaborative conversations became really challenging to make sure we were having. When you're coming at it from totally different language, even, it was.
[00:16:59] Speaker A: It was a educational experience for me as well, because even though I was making recommendations about who were the professionals to bring in, I was making recommendations about professionals that were taking on different perspectives.
So, for example, I was the one who recommended Colin initially as the first medical director.
And one of the things that has always impressed me about how Shannon and Feeding Matters Popsicle have worked is the willingness to bring in Outside help with that.
And so we always had in those early meetings, an outside facilitator.
And that, to me, was extremely critical for building the foundation of that collaboration across multiple disciplines and making sure that that parent voice was continually heard.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:18:04] Speaker A: There were certainly meetings where, you know, there were times where I felt like we as the professionals, got into some esoteric discussion about something or other.
[00:18:20] Speaker B: I could tell you that you dive into the weeds on.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: The parents voice was completely lost. And always, you know, Shannon and Chris, when they were there, and certainly all of you who work with Feeding Matters now always work so hard to bring that parent voice back and the focus back. And I think without those outside facilitators initially, that Shannon and Chris had the wisdom to bring in, the organization would not be what it is today, because I don't think we, as professionals actually really knew how to work together.
[00:19:03] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: And we learned in that process, how do you have a dialogue and a discourse with people who may have really different opinions than you do? And how do you come to a consensus with the focus always being families first?
And that's a point that Chris and Shannon and the facilitators always kept bringing us, as the professionals back to. The focus has to be the child first, the family first. And we have to keep in mind what is our biggest goal here?
Our biggest goal is to help these kids and families.
And that can be done from a variety of different approaches and perspectives and recognizing that no one discipline has all the answers and that we have to look at a continuum of care.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:20:10] Speaker A: And if we don't look at a continuum of care, we're not going to be able to reach the largest number of kids and families. And I think what I have seen over the evolution of Feeding Matters is that piece changing.
Initially, I think we were more focused on certain perspectives than other perspectives, and that over time, Feeding Matters has really stuck to. To the need to be inclusive and to allow everyone to have a place at the table and to look at everyone has a value to bring to the table.
And regardless of their approach, their overall perspective, we all have something to learn from one another.
And I think that was really different for many of us as professionals to really take a step back and not only look at other disciplines, other approaches, but also to be constantly reminded that we needed to be learning from the families and we needed to learn from the kids.
And that if we would just step back and not get so focused on our perspective that there were lessons to be learned that were universal lessons that was going to help Us, regardless of who we were working with or even if we were working with someone who wasn't having a feeding problem. Right.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, a lot of it is universal of things that you can kind of take away from that. What do you think?
What was something surprising or a story that sticks out for you in some of those meetings or conversations over the years because you've been involved in so many different pieces. Not only those early collaborations, a lot of consortium meetings, a lot of medical professional council meetings. I think helping with the website, a lot of stuff.
[00:22:28] Speaker A: Well, with the questionnaire, you know.
[00:22:30] Speaker B: Yes, questionnaire.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: We started. We started with our red flags and then we built from there.
You know, some of the things I remember as being closed in rooms and by the facilitators, more or less. You can't leave until you come to a consensus.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah, we got to agree on something.
[00:22:55] Speaker A: That's a big piece of what I remember. We used to. Because, you know, you think 20 years ago is not that long ago, but it actually is fairly long ago because we didn't do anything really on computers and so we did everything on paper.
So we had easel, flip charts and we would literally cover a room with papers all along the outside edges of the walls. And of these are the topics. Here's the subtopics.
And so some of what I remember is, you know, being in those rooms and we'd put a big circle or rectangle of tables in the middle, but around all of us the walls were covered. Yeah.
And then. And then some poor person with the facilitators, Shannon and Chris, had to make sense of all of those pieces of paper and they always came up with a cohesive perspective that I don't think we understood we were creating in the moment.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: That's fair. The work between the in person meeting and the like, how can we translate it to be cohesive? There is a lot there that I think and I hope that we have made seem seamless, but that I think that's some of the secret sauce of being able to move mountains in small portions.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Right.
I agree. I think it's something that early on, Shannon and Chris understood how to do. And then Feeding Matters has been able to continue to bring people together and to make sense out of what seems like just a massive ton of data.
[00:24:53] Speaker B: Yeah. No, they do it so well. Both Chris and Shannon do it well. To be able to kind of like see. Yeah. See the design through the chaos, I guess.
Right. And we hope that we've honored that legacy as we've continued right to Bring
[00:25:08] Speaker A: out an order that makes sense. And I, I, I, I do feel like Feeding Matters does that. I think the PFD ARFID consensus paper is a really good example of that, you know, and to really bring order and a clear vision to what is just a huge amount of information and again from lots of varying perspectives.
And how do we get all of those people to take that step back and sit down and listen to one another?
You know, I think the other thing that I remember and see is really valuable in those early conferences and the early courses that were done was that opportunity to have the parents get up and talk.
Because it's not something that I certainly as a professional was used to.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: So it wasn't very common. Like I think now parent panels are more included in a lot of conference presentations. But that was a unique factor back then.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: Yes, Love that. Having a group of families get together, having a space for them to get together.
I think having just being in a conference where there were professionals and families together.
I think so many of us as professionals were used to going to our professional courses, our professional national conferences and the idea of essentially having clients there at the same time.
[00:27:05] Speaker B: Robin felt so uncomfortable at first.
[00:27:08] Speaker A: Yeah, it was just so unique to have both of that. And I think interesting piece was that sense of awkwardness on both sides. Yeah, I think the, I think it was on both sides about what are we doing here with these professionals and listening to these talks. And at the same time, I think we as professionals were feeling awkward around how do we make sure we're including the families and making sure that we're speaking at a level that the families were really going to understand and find valuable.
That was a piece of all of our perspectives. We had to change can get out of the jargon, you know, stop talking at that level where you would get involved in an esoteric conversation that probably wasn't relevant to what was going on because it was, you know, some fun offshoot of philosophical conversation.
But so that, that was always really interesting to me to see how when the conference would first start there would be this level of awkwardness. And over the course of the conference, Chris and Lynn always seemed to be able to bring us all together.
[00:28:37] Speaker B: She was very good at that. Like she is so good at that.
[00:28:40] Speaker A: And to make everybody feel like they were included.
And so that was another memory that I always had of each of the conferences that I went to. I don't, I don't, I did not feel it this last in person conference. I didn't feel that awkwardness that's an interesting perspective, Kay.
[00:29:06] Speaker B: Like, I wonder if we've hit the tipping point of where we envisioned. Like if we kind of are like, families need to be at the table. Families need to be at the table. And now finally there's like a seat and the table is welcoming. And hopefully that means we've done enough.
[00:29:23] Speaker A: Equal level of colleagues, regardless of discipline or whether you're considered to be a professional or family. And then I think the other interesting thing is there's this whole group of people that are part of feeding matters that are both. Right.
Who are, especially now, after 20 years.
[00:29:43] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:44] Speaker A: We're starting to see some of the kids who had feeding issues of their own now become professionals in the field. And that's a whole nother unique voice of here's a professional who actually has a lived experience of having had a feeding problem or a G tube or whatever when they were a child.
And so to me, that that was something that was unique about this most recent in person conference is it felt like the whole group was colleagues. And I couldn't have told you without looking at name tags who was a professional and who was a.
Yeah.
And that that was not the case when we first started. It was very clear who was who.
And yeah.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: A lot of variables at play to make some of that change happen.
I have one, one, one more question about Chris and Shannon. I just wanted you to share anything that you remember about them as individuals. Like, maybe we'll start with Chris first. Chris, our former CEO, the person that I took over for. What do you remember about her or what's something that, like, you respected about her or were inspired by her about?
[00:31:10] Speaker A: Wow. That is something I have to think about for just a minute because there's so many different words that come to mind. I think the first word that comes to mind is steadfast.
You know, for Chris, she had this idea and this goal and this mission, and she was able to really be that calm, steady presence in the midst of whatever else was swirling around her.
And so she just always brought that sense of, okay, let's just take a deep breath and let's focus on what's most important and then let's get back to work.
So obviously one of the other things is she's so incredibly warm and caring
[00:32:18] Speaker B: and nurturing, for sure. You just feel that instantly from Chris.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: And really intelligent too. I think sometimes that got missed from the standpoint of she was so good at taking reams of data and integrating them and it was all done in the background. Yeah. And so I think that sometimes that got missed to understand just how much brain power it takes to do that.
And so that's something I always really, really appreciated about how she worked. And she was very good about working in the background. You know, when you think of Shannon, you think about. Shannon is in the foreground.
Shannon was the face, and her enthusiasm was always just so huge.
And I think without that energy, this would not have gone anywhere. I mean, to. To me, I look at Shannon as really the driving force behind why Popsicle came into being and why Feeding Matters exists, not only from the standpoint of her commitment and her energy, but she also really has a knowledge base about how to go out and make social contacts that Most of us, 20 years ago, we had no experience with how to do that.
And her ability to make those connections in the Arizona community, her ability to bring in money to support the organization.
Without those pieces, Feeding Matters would not be what they are today because there are other parent support organizations, parent support groups, and they don't have the reach that Popsicle and now Feeding Matters has created over the years.
And it really is because of Shannon that that exists, in my opinion.
[00:34:39] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, for sure, it was funny. I had someone early on say, you don't say no to Shannon Goldwater.
That's why, you know, there were early days, it was four moms that kind of came together. But because of the Goldwater' initial investment and so much of what she poured into this, she, you know, as our story is told, is our founder.
Because she had the vision, she had the energy. She was able to passionately inspire, educate, and convince people of the importance of this issue, and which most people didn't even think it was a real thing, but she was able to convince them of that.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: Right. I think, you know, even though when you look at it, PFD really didn't get accepted until October 1, 2021, when we got into the ICD10 revision.
But now four years, five years. Well, it's only four years, actually.
It seems like PFD has been out there forever and it's just an accepted thing now.
[00:35:43] Speaker B: It's crazy to me, Kay.
[00:35:46] Speaker A: It does seem accepted, which is great. Right? And so when. When we look at the fact that we did not have a name, a thing to hang our hat on, I think especially when I talk to brand new therapists, that's something that they don't understand. They don't understand what it was like to not have a diagnosis. And, and, and, and now when I teach overseas, a lot of people don't understand how challenging it is overseas because pfd isn't in ICD 11. It's just such a huge issue and that that struggle is still really going on there. But here in the US people don't understand that Feeding Matters was the driving force behind getting PFD created.
And the one funny story about that whole process to just tell you is we really struggled with calling it Pediatric Feeding Disorder because PFD stands for Personal Flotation Device.
And we probably had a discussion for over an hour about that piece, specifically about what were we doing, because people are going to hear PFD and they're going to think personal floating, personal flotation Device.
And yet four years later, that is not what people think when they hear pfd, not at least from a professional standpoint. You can.
[00:37:28] Speaker B: It's like a well accepted field now.
[00:37:30] Speaker A: Much better to whether lay people who don't know anything about feeding things. Pfdo Professional Personal Flotation Device.
You know, because we looked at so many other names because we were afraid of the acronym.
[00:37:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:49] Speaker A: And you look back at it then and what it is today and it really hasn't been an issue at all. And so every once in a while I still kind of chuckle about that.
[00:38:01] Speaker B: That's so funny. That's true. Yeah. Like it could have. And it could. I mean, I think people don't realize it could have gone 14 different ways with calling it something.
[00:38:09] Speaker A: Oh, we had.
That was one of those meetings where we had papers along with, with multiple. I think we started out with. We had to have started out with 50 different names at least.
And then to try to narrow it down was really, really a challenge.
And so without Chris and Lynn, the field would not be where it is today.
And so.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: Well, it's truly like a collaboration. I think they probably feel the same way about being able to call you and have you come out to Phoenix to do those things.
Like, I think that's what's always been so beneficial is everybody has always been in this for families first and children first and what can we do better to keep doing better.
Awesome. Kay, well, thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me.
[00:39:14] Speaker A: Well, thank you for everything.
[00:39:16] Speaker B: Obviously, it's crazy that we're at 20 years.
I like feeling so almost bittersweet about it because it's like you want so much for this field, but then in stories like this you're reminded how much
[00:39:29] Speaker A: impact we really have had and how big the changes have been. And it's interesting to watch because it does seem like that the pace of change has picked up.
[00:39:43] Speaker B: That's great.
[00:39:44] Speaker A: And I think since the PFD diagnosis got created, that's just really pushed the field.
[00:39:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Kicked it into high gear.
[00:39:56] Speaker A: It is. When I look at, you know, keeping up with the research.
Keeping up with the research was always a challenge, but not relatively that difficult. In the last three to four years, the research in the field has just exploded. Just exploded.
For the. For the good.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:40:23] Speaker A: And I think without having the diagnosis and without having the recognition that feeding Matters is created, the field absolutely would not be where it's at today.
And the fascinating thing, of course, is to look at and think about, okay, where is the field going next?
[00:40:42] Speaker B: Where do you think the field's going next?
[00:40:45] Speaker A: I think the field is gradually moving towards a base consensus about what everyone needs to understand when you work with kids who have feeding challenges. And I think that's kind of our next big hurdle.
[00:41:04] Speaker B: I agree.
[00:41:05] Speaker A: That's the next mountain, is to come to an agreement.
And that's where we still have some level of division.
But I think we have to start with what do we know about the foundations of feeding? What do we know about the fact that eating is a skill and children have to learn it like they do everything else? And sure, most every kid learns to walk, most every kid learns to talk, but not all of them do.
And that feeding really fits in with that conceptualization of it's a skill that's learned. Sure, we have some great developmental support and hopefully neurologic support for all of that, and sometimes it doesn't go perfectly.
And how do we help every kid achieve what they can achieve? Yeah.
[00:42:05] Speaker B: What's in their.
[00:42:06] Speaker A: In their journey, Their abilities, their capacity, their journey, Their family's journey.
[00:42:12] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: And so I think that's really where the field is. Is going next.
Yep. Maybe wrong about that, but that's where I think the field is going.
[00:42:25] Speaker B: No, I think. I think it's certainly needed. And that's the thing. I think there could be four different answers for this and all be very much needed because the field is still so young, even though we are this far in.
[00:42:38] Speaker A: Well, and it's really different than many other areas of medicine or mental health, which is my field, because feeding requires you have a multidisciplinary perspective, and feeding requires that you do the best job you can. Creating a multidisciplinary assessment, whether you're able to bring in multiple people or you're just taking that multidisciplinary perspective as a single provider.
And how we get insurance companies to be willing to pay for those multidisciplinary assessments, I think is the other big hurdle because there really is not other diagnoses, medical issues, mental health issues, where so many disciplines really need to be involved in the assessment and the treatment.
And when we can't get our third party payers to pay for the help, then kids don't get the best services.
Yep.
And how do we. That's, I think, as I said, our next hurdle. How do we change that? And it's unique to feeding in all of medicine that we're going to be the driving force behind helping insurance and lots of various professional disciplines. Seeing that, you know, multidisciplinary is the
[00:44:19] Speaker B: way to go, the next frontier for sure, changing mindset. That what we like, that's how we like to approach system change, is that's a mindset shift.
[00:44:29] Speaker A: Right, right, right.
So thank you for inviting me and this walk down memory lane.
[00:44:40] Speaker B: Well, and thank you for your part in it. I know you talked a lot about Chris and Shannon, but you have been there from the beginning to help guide us, help give us advice, help challenge us when we needed it, to make sure that we continued to stay focused on our North Star. And we just are so appreciative of everything you've brought.
[00:45:00] Speaker A: Oh, thank you. Thank you.
There's, you know, some of those big people like Joan and like you're big too, Suan. You know, there's the Aaron and, and Joy. There's, there's Julie, there's those people who were there from the start.
And so I think we all like to think we had the ability to contribute.
[00:45:28] Speaker B: Yeah, no, you did in, in huge ways and still do to this day in just different ways.
[00:45:36] Speaker A: The Feeding Matters International Pediatric Feeding Disorder Conference explores the theme the Feeding where systems, skills and stories connect. This entirely virtual conference includes over 30 hours of continuing education with keynote sessions from Emory center for Ethics professor John Liesecker and from the family, nutritionist Alexandra Turnbull. Attend live virtually February 25th through the 27th and view on demand March 9th through April 30th. Visit feeding matters.org conference to learn more.
