Our Mission
Impact on infants with feeding and gastrointestinal difficulties:
Short Term:
- Increased survival rate
- Improved short term and long term physical health
- Improved emotional, physical and cognitive neuro-development
- Improved psychosocial stability and increased bonding with caregiver
- Alleviating overall suffering of infant—humanitarian impact
Long Term:
- Overall health, less illness, improved development
- More likely to become a well adjusted, fully functioning contributor to family and community
Impact on Caregivers:
Short Term:
- Improved confidence in ability to calm, care for and bond with infants
- Decreased stress and improved health and well being
Long Term:
- Acquisition of knowledge and skills that can be applied throughout life span and taught to other caregivers
Impact on the Community:
- Healthy children can’t spread illness to others
- Healthy children recover faster and with less complications and negative impact on others
- Overall need and expense for health care is reduced
- Healthy, well-adjusted, well-educated children grow up to be contributors to the community rather than requiring more community resources.
Impact on the World:
- Based on the success of these interventions, programs can be introduced into other communities with similar needs
Impact on the Occupational Therapy Profession:
- Immediate information regarding the efficacy of specific oral motor treatment techniques with infants of different psychosocial/ethnic backgrounds
- Immediate information regarding effectiveness of specific training techniques for caregivers
- Immediate information regarding the effectiveness of using trained caregivers to provide oral motor intervention
- Opportunities for those in the Occupational Therapy profession to widen the scope of practice.
