FeedingPlus - Nicola Pratt

04/22/2026

Sometimes the most powerful way to understand feeding challenges is to step back and listen. Young people offer a great deal of wisdom - we can learn so much from them. Recently, I sat down with a 14-year-old that I’ve worked with for several years to talk about her experience with ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder). With her and her family’s permission, I’m sharing parts of our conversation in my blog.

What is it really like to live with ARFID? In this blog, Nicola Pratt, Speech-Language Pathologist and Feeding Therapist, sits down with a 14-year-old to talk about her eating journey, including what has helped, what has not, and what she wishes others understood.

08/19/2025

🎉New resource for parents and clinicians!
I’ve just launched my self-paced video course, "The Calm Table: From Mealtime Stress to Success", created to make mealtimes less stressful and more connected for both kids and families.
In this course, I walk through:
✅ Strategies to ease mealtime power struggles
✅ Responsive, family-centered feeding practices
✅ Step-by-step approaches to reduce picky eating
✅ Tips to foster positive food relationships in children

While designed for families, this course is also a valuable resource for clinicians who want to strengthen their foundation in practical, evidence-based feeding strategies. If you know a parent, caregiver, or colleague who may benefit, I’d be grateful if you passed it along.
Thank you! 💙

The Calm Table is a practical, parent-friendly course designed to help families reduce mealtime stress, power struggles, and pressure around eating. Learn responsive strategies to support picky eaters, build positive food relationships, and create calmer, happier mealtimes.

07/31/2025

My 13-year-old client with ARFID proudly showed me her list of the foods she has been exploring this summer. When we started therapy over 2-years ago she was eating just a few foods and was very fearful (and tearful) around new foods. Now she gets lit-up about discovering new foods to add to her growing repertoire! I asked her how she chooses which foods to taste. She replied, “If I choose them myself and they look good to me, I decide to have a taste.” A wise response, which beautifully demonstrates how we are all unique humans with different sensory systems and lenses on life…including food. What looks delicious to one person, might look gross to someone else. It’s important to respect different perspectives about food and give kids opportunities to lead the way. This helps them move toward intuitive, internal motivation to eat. Yes, I’m very proud of her, but more importantly she is extremely proud of herself. 🥰

04/02/2025

Let’s talk about awareness and acceptance around autism & feeding:

🩵 No two kids are on the same path with their eating. There isn’t one “best” approach. The question is, “What works best for this unique child?”

🩷 Family is at the heart of any feeding plan. “What works best for this unique family?”… their schedule, cultural beliefs and practices.

❤️‍🩹 Feeding kids is an emotional business. Parents often experience judgement, shame, fear, guilt, and grief around their child’s feeding. Food is more than just calories and nutrition. Food is love.

🧡 Feeding intervention should not cause harm. It should be responsive, respectful, and child-centred.

💙 Feeding issues are too often labelled as “behavioural” - autistic kids have a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal, sleep, oral-motor, developmental, and sensory processing issues…all of which have an impact on feeding.

💛 Children eat well when they feel calm, regulated, safe, and respected. This means they should always have safe foods available to fill their tummies and nourish their bodies. Starving kids to get them to eat does not work, it leads to hungry, dysregulated kids and sad, stressed-out parents.

💜 Kids learn through play. Play is a great way to learn about new foods. Playing with food is an opportunity to “meet” new foods as led by the child.

💚 Family meals are not “best” for all kids. Some kids eat better alone and/or with accommodations to support their eating. Some kids eat well with a screen to help them stay regulated. If we provide accommodations to support success at school, why not provide them at mealtimes too?

❤️ Not everyone is a foodie. Many kids struggle with food and eating. They experience sensory overload and anxiety around food. Not everyone has to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Some people feel safe when they only eat a few foods. Some kids are well nourished with a limited number of safe foods or with supplements to support their growth and nutrition.

🩵 We don’t all see and feel the world the same way and we don’t all have to eat the same way. Eating and food is a very personal relationship for each of us.

Be kind. Keep an open mind. ❤️

02/19/2025

❤️
One of my 13-year-old clients proudly showed me her journal of food adventures from the past 2-weeks. She loves to taste new foods and give them a score. She has been meeting with me for food exploring and tasting after school almost every week for the past 2-years. When we started therapy, she had an extremely limited diet and a lot of anxiety about food. As you can see from the list, she’s become an amazing food adventurer (and critic 🤣). She’s an awesome human.

Today she told me that she’s beginning to excitedly crave foods that she used to be scared to eat. We chatted about internal vs. external motivation to eat and she expressed that she most likes to explore foods when she makes the decision to taste the food by herself…not becuase she was pushed or pressured, but because the food looked or smelled good. I think she speaks for all the kids that are on a feeding journey. We help kids most when we give them opportunities to meet new foods and treat them with patience, love, and respect.

01/08/2025

Are you a health care provider or parent involved in the care of children dependent upon tube feeding? Do you want to learn more? Join us for a one-day symposium at the in February during Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2025! QR code for more info and to register. With: Me! 🙋🏼‍♀️Nicola Pratt, M.Sc., SLP(C) Veronika Langos, RD, Stephanie Chu, 💙🩵💙

12/03/2024

Hey Tubie Families...Save the date! ❤️
I’m excited to partner again with , and the G-Tube Feeding Program for a special Family Tubie Night on February 6, 2025. This is a free virtual event as part of Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2025.

I will be presenting, “Navigating and Coping with Judgement: A Supportive Evening for Families of Children with Feeding Tubes.”
Parents often describe feeling judged by others when their child requires tube feeding. This can contribute to feelings of stress, self-doubt, and isolation.

To Register: Use the QR code on the poster or email [email protected]

12/03/2024

Hey Tubie Families...Save the date!
I'm excited to partner again with SickKids and the G-Tube Feeding Program for a special Family Tubie Night on February 6, 2025. This is a free virtual event as part of Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2025.

I will be presenting, "Navigating and Coping with Judgement: A Supportive Evening for Families of Children with Feeding Tubes."

Parents often describe feeling judged by others when their child requires tube feeding. This can contribute to feelings of stress, self-doubt, and isolation.

To Register: Use the QR code on the poster or email [email protected]

09/13/2024

I’m excited to partner with The Hospital for Sick Children / SickKids and the G-Tube Feeding Program for this supportive evening for families of kids with feeding tubes! Please share the love! 💙

08/28/2024

I’m excited to partner with SickKids and the G-Tube Feeding Program for a special Tubie Family Night on October 3rd, 2024. I will be presenting “Navigating and Coping with Judgement: A Supportive Evening for Families of Children with Feeding Tubes.” This virtual and free event is designed to support families of children with feeding tubes.

Parents often describe feeling judged by others when their child requires tube feeding. This can contribute to feelings of stress, self-doubt, and isolation. The evening is designed to offer community and support and reassure parents that they are not alone on their feeding journey.

Please share this with any families who might benefit from this event.

🔗 To Register: Please scan the QR code on the poster or email [email protected]

08/28/2024

I'm excited to partner with SickKids and the G-Tube Feeding Program for a special Tubie Family Night on October 3rd, 2024. I will be presenting "Navigating and Coping with Judgement: A Supportive Evening for Families of Children with Feeding Tubes." This virtual and free event is designed to support families of children with feeding tubes.

Parents often describe feeling judged by others when their child requires tube feeding. This can contribute to feelings of stress, self-doubt, and isolation. The evening is designed to offer community and support and reassure parents that they are not alone on their feeding journey.

Please share this with any families who might benefit from this event.

🔗 To Register: Please scan the QR code on the poster or email [email protected]

07/02/2024

Bravo, and News for raising awareness about . You can follow Hannah’s journey on Instagram ❤️
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/07/02/health/arfid-eating-disorder-wellness