Mishelle trains a caregiver how to feed a child with cerebral palsy
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Recently, Fiesta Pediatric Therapy has become involved with
an organization, SPOON Foundation. The Spoon Foundation works to improve
feeding and nutrition for vulnerable children overseas, including children with
disabilities. Mishelle Rudzinski,
a speech-language pathologist at Fiesta, is a co-founder
of SPOON. SPOON works to improve
feeding and nutrition for children in orphanages, most of whom have special
needs and do not have access to adaptive equipment, specialized care, or
therapy. Most of the children are
malnourished. SPOON provides
training, equipment, and advocacy for children living in orphanages and foster
care in China, India, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and even here in the
U.S. Beth Williamson, Fiesta’s
owner and Clinical Director, will soon be traveling with SPOON to Bangalore and
Pune, India to train orphanage caregivers and foster parents on seating,
positioning, and feeding for children with special needs.
SPOON also provides free resources to adoptive and foster
families in the U.S. regarding the unique nutritional needs of adopted and
foster kids at AdoptionNutrition.org.
Follow Fiesta Family for updates on Mishelle and Beth's journeys with the Spoon Foundation.
A caregiver in India feeds a baby with cleft palate drop by drop with a
small spoon. Beth will soon
provide specialized training and equipment so the babies can be fed with
bottles.
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