Target Audience

This course is intended for OTs and SLPs working with children on the autism spectrum under six years old. This course is for Occupational Therapists seeking continuing education credit through AOTA. For ASHA credit, please visit the SLP version of this course [will link to course].

Course Information

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To register for this course, use the button at the top or bottom of this page to sign up. There is no cost to attend the webinar or receive your certificate. 

Mealtime can be a challenge for autistic children. In this one-hour webinar, learn an evidence-based assessment framework to decode feeding barriers. We explore integrating the SOS approach and Division of Responsibility into the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Joint Activity Routine framework. Through case studies, gain practical tools to foster safer, independent mealtimes.

Occupational Therapists who complete all course activities will receive 1 contact hour of continuing education credit. 

Course Completion Requirements

To complete this course, learners must: 

  • Watch the entirety of the presentation. Partial credit is not available.
  • Pass a learning assessment of 10 multiple-choice questions with a score of at least 80%. You may take the learning assessment as many times as needed to earn a passing score.
  • Submit your learner information and complete the course evaluation and feedback survey. 


Satisfactory completion will result in the attendees being eligible for 0.1 AOTA CEU. 

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify common feeding challenges in young autistic children.

2. Apply a structured feeding assessment process

3. Choose responsive, evidence-based feeding approaches

4. Differentiate barriers and select collaborative goals

Time-Ordered Agenda

0-5:00: Introductions & Foundations: Recap of core ESDM feeding principles and the Division of Responsibility


5:00-8:00: Common Feeding Challenges: Description of common feeding challenges


8:00-16:00: Structured Feeding Assessment: A 4-step workflow from caregiver interviews to multidisciplinary synthesis


16:00-26:00: Common Barriers and Treatment Strategies: Description of the barriers commonly associated with each feeding challenge, and strategies to address the barriers


26:00-50:00: Interactive Deep-Dive Case Studies: Analyzing Nora (Sensorimotor) and James, a disengaged eater (Postural/Hyposensitivity)


50:00-55:00: Supplemental Documents: review of handouts, interview questions


55:00-1:00 Summary & Live Q&A: Final takeaways and participant discussion


+ 5 minutes for the OT Learning Assessment


+ 8 minutes for the SLP learning assessment

Instructors

Elizabeth St. Lawrence, MOT, OTR/L

Liz joined Soar in 2023 as an Occupational Therapist and now serves as the Feeding Director. As a former picky eater herself, Liz is deeply passionate about transforming mealtimes from a source of stress into an enjoyable adventure. Her goal is to empower children and their caregivers with strategies that foster playful and positive food exploration.

Liz is a SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding trained Feeding Therapist. Her approach integrates key principles from the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) with feeding therapy, emphasizing play-based learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, research-backed techniques, and genuine fun. As Feeding Director, Liz is dedicated to standardizing and developing high-quality feeding therapy at Soar, refining processes and training fellow OTs to confidently apply their skills.

Connect with Liz on LinkedIn

Disclosures: Liz is a salaried employee of Soar Autism Center. She has no other relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.


JoHanna Poertner, MA, MS, CCC-SLP

JoHanna Poertner, M.A., M.S., CCC-SLP, is a speech-language pathologist born and raised in Arizona, passionate about giving back to the Valley where she grew up. Before becoming an SLP, she worked as a nanny and special education teacher, experiences that shaped her love for supporting children and families. As Feeding Director at Soar, JoHanna focuses on expanding and standardizing high-quality feeding therapy while mentoring fellow SLPs. She blends principles from the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) with feeding therapy, centering play, assent, and neurodiversity-affirming care to make mealtimes meaningful, supportive, and fun.

Connect with JoHanna on LinkedIn

Disclosures: JoHanna is a salaried employee of Soar Autism Center. She has no other relevant financial or non-financial relationships to disclose.

Accommodations & Contact Information

Captions will be turned on for this presentation. 

For questions or comments, please email [email protected].