DEVELOPMENTAL CONSULTS & FEEDING CONSULTS

Book a private consult with one of our developmental clinicians and have the chance to ask your questions and to learn new strategies in a quiet, supportive environment. We know you have limited time with your child’s pediatrician and the internet can be full of so many conflicting opinions. It can be hard to know where to turn find real answers and reassurance. Come ask one of our developmental therapists who can help weed through the information and provide evidence-based strategies to you and can observe your little one during their play and help you navigate to different resources, as needed.

Developmental consults (Motor/ Speech/ Nutrition/General Development): $150/hr

Feeding consults: $200/hr

LEARNING LABS (Semi-private lessons)

We have created Learning Labs to provide both a semi-private forum to ask questions around a certain theme (ie. crawling, tummytime, social language and turn-taking, etc.) and a hands-on experience for you and your tot to learn and practice strategies! As therapists, we have worked in pediatric clinics and in Early Intervention and we know that YOU are the most important teacher for your tot and we all learn by doing! So we teach you to fish! By coaching you and teaching you our tricks from the field, your tot’s learning opportunities are multiplied! Come learn with other parents who have similar questions and practice immediately usable strategies for your home.

Labs are offered at different times throughout the week for your convenience, including some evening and weekends.

GROUP LEARNING & CLASSES

Groups are a very powerful learning tool for all! Children learn through imitation and social modeling, especially with complex tasks like eating. Being surrounded by peers can promote curiosity, exploration and skill development all in the context of play! We have several types of groups at the tot spot PHX for this exact reason. As pediatric clinicians, we know that you as a parent or caregiver and your children all benefit from learning in group settings. As parents, you can find support in the community and answers to questions you may not have even formulated yet.

Developmental Classes

One type of group that we offer is a developmental playgroup that is arranged by age/motor stage. These are exploratory groups that cover all major areas of development— communication, social, motor, cognitive and sensory/feeding. Our groups provide practical information to parents in the context of fun, new activities and routines for the little ones and a supportive forum to ask developmental questions. What makes our groups different from other ones you might attend with your tot [such as a music class] is that they are run by master clinicians specializing in child development and are designed to be as useful as they are fun.

We use our clinical knowledge gathered from experience with thousands of families to answer your questions and share time- and parent-tested strategies you can immediately use in your home targeted to your tot’s developmental stage.

• Meet other parents who have children at the exact stage as you!

• Learn and practice strategies to help promote rolling, crawling, talking, feeding and other developmental skills!

• Ask your questions in a safe, supportive environment and get informed answers.

Feeding Groups

These are a unique offering, as feeding groups are hard to find in the Valley but one of the most time-tested modes of learning for both parents and tots! Feeding is confusing and most parents we meet in the field are struggling with it and wondering whether their struggles are “normal”! Eating is arguably the most complex motor and sensory-rich daily activity our children need to do, and it is not as instinctual as most of us think! Besides the first few months when eating is largely driven by reflexes, the rest of eating is a complex set of learned skills.

Almost every parent has questions around this area but very few know where to turn for real-time answers. Most of you already have wandered into the quagmire of internet sourced information and have been left puzzled, shamed or attacked! We want to create a warm, welcoming community where you get information and your children get practice with this complex set of essential daily living skills!

•Are you worried about giving your infants larger pieces to self-feed?

•Are you stressed that your tot only eats a handful of things?

•Does your child tend to avoid every food group you think of as essential and healthy?

•Is your toddler still getting most of their calories from liquids?

•Are mealtimes generally stressful for you?

•Are you confused about the parent wars around “Baby led weaning” or unsure about how to start offering solids yourself"?

•Do you have a tot that often gags?

If you said “yes” to any of these questions or have questions of your own surrounding the area of feeding, a group might be very helpful for you and your tot! Come learn about feeding and ask your questions while also practicing some strategies to employ in your home to make mealtimes more fun for you and your family. Watch your tot happily explore new, healthy foods with his peers and learn mealtime strategies to take home.

Often parents will ask, “why will my child eat X at school or a cousin’s birthday party that they won’t even touch at home”? This can be extremely frustrating for caregivers as they navigate pickiness and challenging behaviors around mealtimes. However, this is the good kind of “peer pressure”. We are social beings and children are no exception! Throughout time and across cultures, eating has been a social time and this has provided a rich opportunity for learning and imitation for children. Due to our busy lives and practical barriers, many of these learning opportunities have been lost. However, you are not meant to navigate these waters alone! Come find your village and eat together, and let your little learn through social engagement and play that eating is fun!