Meet Henry, Patient Success Story

Henry was hospitalized for poor feeding at birth. He soon received the diagnosis of Prader Willi and was discharged from the hospital with a g-tube while attempting bottle feedings. He was mostly g-tube fed and only accepted small amounts via bottle at a time.

Our focus for therapy was identifying feeding readiness cues, stress cues, and responding with interventions to decrease stress and improve engagement. Therapy also provided education surrounding the development of Henry’s love of eating! We talked about why Henry was acting and responding the way he was. We talked about how we could support when that is disappointing sometimes, but also how valuable it would be when he was a little older, more awake, and had more energy! Mom and Dad always provided the feeding attempt. They saw and felt firsthand the stress cues he was communicating to them. We helped them understand the bigger picture!

Henry started sitting supported at about 6 months. Even though he was still being fed partly via g-tube at times, Henry began eating and thoroughly enjoying real foods around this time. Over that first year, he slowly transitioned to taking his milk and eating 100% by mouth and his g-tube was removed at one year of age! Because this family was on board with the therapy plan and so involved, they understood how to facilitate Henry’s journey. They were his biggest supporters, and because of that, Henry was discharged from feeding therapy at 7 months of age. Yay, Henry!