About

About us

Nourish is a Christchurch based private practice, specialized in paediatric feeding assessment and intervention, from starting solids through to young adolescents. At Nourish, we understand the stress, stigma and difficulties associated with feeding challenges and are here to support and work with you to create more positive feeding experiences for your child and whānau.

Rebecca established Nourish to support children and whānau through navigating the complexities of feeding and mealtimes.

Our Mission

Our mission at Nourish is to provide a safe, welcoming environment, where whānau are the expert of the child and play an active role in therapy.

Second to providing a safe and welcoming environment, our goal is to identify and respond in the most appropriate way to the feeding challenges you have identified.

Types of Feeding Challenges

Feeding challenges in children often present as ‘fussy eating’, with an underlying cause investigated in therapy.

Paediatric Feeding Disorder in children

Paediatric Feeding Disorder

According to Feeding Matters, a Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) is defined as impaired oral intake that is not age appropriate and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill and/or psychosocial dysfunction (Feeding Matters, 2021). 

A Paediatric Feeding Disorder typically identifies itself during early feeding development, roughly between 2-6 years of age however can begin during a child’s first feeding experiences, including breast/bottle feeding and introduction to solids. 

Research and experience tell us that early intervention is a key component in supporting and improving a child’s eating patterns and behaviors.

ARFID in children

ARFID

ARFID which stands for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, is characterized by an eating or feeding disturbance, with a persistent failure to meet nutritional or energy needs. It is often referred to as a ‘fear of food’. ARFID is broken down into:

  • A lack of interest in food or quickly becoming full 
  • Sensory avoidance due to touch, smell or taste of food
  • Avoidance of food due to internal consequences such as illness, nausea or allergies.
  • Excluding a restriction of food due to the perception of body image. 
Sensory Feeding Challenges in children

Sensory Feeding Challenges

Sensory feeding challenges may present as ‘fussy eating’ with the child selecting foods based on their sensory properties. This may be food preferences to beige/white foods, and certain textured foods (preference to crunchy or soft foods).

A child with sensory feeding challenges would benefit from a Sensory Profile Assessment to better understand their sensory needs, undertaken during our initial assessment processes as needed.

 

Paediatric Feeding Specialist

Kia Ora, 

My name is Rebecca Barnard, Occupational Therapist and Director of Nourish established to meet a large and growing need for paediatric feeding therapy services in Aotearoa New Zealand. Born and raised in Tauranga, New Zealand, growing up on small farm and kiwifruit orchard in Te Puke, I quickly developed a love and understanding of how our food is grown and where it comes from. Sustainability holds a place in my heart and is implemented into my approach and way of practice. Being the eldest of 3 in a family of 5, our whānau mealtimes felt like organized chaos, however, were always a chance to connect at the end of the day. 

After completing my Bachelor of Occupational Therapy, Otago Polytechnic, my need to experience life overseas saw me to move to Australia where my passion for feeding therapy began and grew! A calling to move home was next on the cards, settling in Christchurch to start Nourish after identifying a need within our beautiful country. 

My why: I am a foodie, through and through, however like all of us, I have my own food challenges and foods that I do not like. I am here to support children and whānau whose mealtimes and feeding experiences are particularly challenging. 

The reason for starting Nourish developed from a need within our community to support children and whānau with feeding challenges. 

We continue to undertake professional learning experiences and keep up to date with the latest evidence-based practices and research.

Lucy Brookes – Speech Language Therapist

In 1997 I began practising as a Speech Language therapist (SLT), working for the National Health Service in the UK. Early on in my career I recognised that my passion as an SLT lie in the field of dysphagia. In 2000 I completed post graduate qualification in dysphagia at Manchester university. I then moved half way around the world to take up a specialist SLT post as a Paediatric feeding therapist at Te Whatu Ora Waitamata. In the years since then I have married and had 2 children and have shifted around New Zealand as dictated by NZ Defence Force; from Auckland to Palmerston North and finally to Christchurch. During this time, I have continued working as a Paediatric SLT in various positions supporting children with a wide variety of needs in various settings – without doubt the place I love working most is in the child’s own home alongside their whanau. In the years of being a mum I have unintentionally gained extra insight into Paediatric feeding difficulties through my own lived experiences. 

I am excited about the opportunity to work as an SLT for Nourish Feeding Therapy.

Amelia Anderson – Occupational Therapist 
My passion lies in exploring the interplay of food, mental health/well-being, social interaction, and whanau. Having graduated from Otago Polytechnic in 2011, I broadened my experiences working in Wellington and later in London, UK.
In the past five five years, I’ve specialised in Paediatric Occupational Therapy across public and private sectors, supporting and empowering children with various neurodiverse conditions, along with their whanau to develop the skills and confidence to thrive in this beautiful world. My focus encompasses all aspects of a child’s daily activities with a keen interest in feeding therapy, for which I undertook specialised SOS feeding therapy training in 2019.
Upon returning to Christchurch in 2020, and becoming a mother, I have also gained invaluable personal insights into feeding challenges, enhancing my professional practice. I believe eating is not linear, and especially an ever-changing journey we are all on together, but with the right support, knowledge, care and commitment to making gradual, informed changes, it can be incredibly supportive for both the child and their whanau.

I’m excited to be part of the Nourish Therapy team and look forward to supporting you through a positive and empowering feeding journey.

When is Feeding Therapy Necessary?

When is Feeding Therapy Necessary? Mealtimes can be a source of joy and connection for families, but they can also be filled with stress and worry, especially when a child's eating habits deviate from what's considered 'typical'. In such cases, parents may find...

Introduction to Starting Solids

Introduction to Starting Solids A (very) brief introduction to starting solids with your tamariki.  When should I start solids?  The World Health Organization recommends beginning solids around 6 months, once your child show signs of  Sitting without support (for a...

Speech Therapy role in Feeding Therapy

Speech and Language Therapists play a crucially important role in the feeding therapy team, we have expanded our service to now include speech and language therapy to our Multidisciplinary feeding team.  Speech and Language Therapists tend to predominately support...

Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) Diagnostic Assessments

Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) Diagnostic Assessments    This month is Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) awareness month. PFD is defined as impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate, and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or...

Parental Mental Health during Feeding Challenges

Parental Mental Health Month The month of March brings awareness to Parental Mental Health, a hugely important topic, particularly regarding raising a child experiencing Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD). A quote from Feeding Matters, an organization raising awareness...

Navigating the School Lunch Box

Children with Fussy Eating and/or Paediatric Feeding Disorder (and their parents) can find the school lunch box a place of worry, stress, and uncertainty.   Are there going to be foods that I know I can eat? Are my teachers and peers going to ask me how much I...

When to seek help?

When do I need feeding therapy? What flags should I look out for? When is it more than just Fussy Eating?  These are frequently asked questions parents are asking as to when feeding therapy is needed. For some of our tamariki their feeding therapy journey begins very...

Fussy Eating and the Holidays

Fussy eating and the holidays  Children experiencing Fussy Eating, Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) or ARFID, often find the holidays overwhelming and stressful. Caregivers of children experiencing feeding challenges, also find the holidays extremely stressful and...

Occupational Therapy role in Feeding Therapy

This blog is dedicated to my favourite profession (biasedly because it is my profession), which is Occupational Therapy! Typically, a dietician or speech therapist is sought after regarding feeding therapy, while their role is important, an Occupational Therapy role...

Feeding challenges and mental health

Looking after our mental health in times of stress   Fussy eating and feeding challenges can cause a lot of stress for caregivers. Our mental health is important and supporting it directly impacts feeding and mealtimes. I don’t know about you but the things we...