Practical Strategies and Tools to Reduce Mealtime Stress
Workshop Duration: 2 hours
Cost: $120.00
Are you supporting children with picky eating but unsure what is sensory, behavioural or developmental?
Do family mealtimes feel tense despite your best efforts?
This workshop gives you practical assessment tools and four clear OT strategies to reduce pressure and build progress.
Purchase this workshop
Date: Friday 24 April 2026
Time: 12.00pm - 2.00pm AEST
Duration: 2 hours
What will you learn?
In this introductory workshop, you will gain practical knowledge and tools to:
Understanding mealtime challenges
- Identify common misconceptions about picky eating
- Analyse underlying sensory, motor, oral motor and environmental contributors
- Interpret feeding history and 3 day food diaries
Assessment skills
- Conduct initial feeding assessments
- Use SPM-2 or SP2 alongside clinical observations to understand sensory factors contributing to feeing challenges
- Consider posture, motor skills, oral motor function, medical factors and cultural context
Evidence informed intervention
- Understand and apply the Steps to Eating framework (From the SOS approach)
- Understand exposure principles and realistic goal setting
- Implement Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility
- Reduce pressure to eat while supporting skill development
Core OT strategies in addressing food in OT intervention
- The Food Is the Focus
- Involve the Child
- Aim for Variety
- Create No Pressure Food Exploration
- Use new food steps to guide graded exposure
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is designed for Occupational Therapists who are starting out with addressing feeding/mealtime issues with your clients. Perhaps you're an OT who:
- Support children with picky eating or restricted diets
- Work in paediatric private practice, community or school settings
- Want clearer assessment pathways for feeding concerns
- Seek practical strategies they can implement immediately
- Aim to reduce family stress while supporting participation
Why attend?
In this workshop, you will:
- Strengthen your assessment process for feeding presentations
- Gain structured tools that simplify clinical reasoning
- Learn practical strategies grounded in real case examples
- Build skills to reduce mealtime pressure and conflict
- Leave with immediately applicable tools for paediatric practice
What's included?
- Gain online access to the workshop – live workshops are delivered via Zoom, while self-paced options include access to recorded sessions
- Download workshop slides and any resources provided by the presenter
- Enjoy six months of access to the recording and resources via your Verve OT Learning Library
- Receive a certificate of completion for your CPD records, available via email upon completion of the workshop
By purchasing this workshop, you will also unlock access to bonus resources provided by Sarah Doyle:
Food Diary Template
Parent Feeding History Questionnaire
Picky Eaters Vs Feeding Challenges checklist (SOS)
New food Rating Thermometer visual
Steps to Eating (SOS)
Included with your workshop in your Verve OT Learning Library
Considering more than one workshop?
Add them all to your cart and finalise your purchase in one easy step
About the Presenter
Sarah Doyle is a Paediatric Occupational Therapist with over two decades of experience across the private and public sectors in Australia and the United Kingdom. Based in Sydney, Sarah is the founding director of Seedling Occupational Therapy, a family-centred practice passionate about nurturing growing minds and bodies, and helping children develop the skills they need to thrive in everyday lives.
Sarah's approach centres on building strong collaborative relationships with families, education and healthcare professionals. She believes that the most meaningful progress comes from helping children develop genuine skills and capabilities — teaching them to be their best selves and trust in their own abilities as they navigate play, movement, regulation, learning, self-care, and social interaction. This approach expands children’s development from the therapy room to daily experiences at home, school and community.
Throughout her career, Sarah has completed extensive post-graduate training and remains dedicated to ongoing professional development, always seeking new ways to grow as both a therapist and a parent. This commitment ensures she provides current and evidence based supports for children and their families.
As a therapist, mentor, and parent coach, Sarah brings professional expertise and personal insight to her support. As a mother of three daughters, a keen cook, gardener and landscape artist, she understands the parenting journey, allowing her to connect authentically with families and empower parents with the knowledge and strategies to support their children's growth.
At Seedling Occupational Therapy, Sarah is committed to helping children develop independence in everyday activities and to ensuring that children, families, and fellow therapists alike reach their maximum potential.
