“Compassion opens limitless doors to human connection”
– Steve Gilliland
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– Steve Gilliland
Val and Debbie intertwine responsive feeding philosophies and trauma informed practices in all their training workshops.
They strive to continually remain neuro-diversity affirming and culturally responsive in their feeding approaches.
They have undergone significant postgraduate training in a range of feeding programs and continue to challenge and develop their own professional knowledge in paediatric feeding.
Val and Debbie strongly believe that when we stop and really listen to families’ journeys then we open the door to authentic and trust building relationships where mealtime changes naturally occur.
ABOUT US
Debbie
Alvarez
Debbie is a speech pathologist with 20 years’ experience supporting babies and children with feeding difficulties.
She has worked in acute hospital settings including St George and Sydney Children’s Hospital, where she met and worked with Val. Debbie is the owner of ‘Feeding Kids Sydney’, a private practice in Southern Sydney that supports families having difficulty with breast and bottle feeding, the introduction to solids, fussy and restricted eating, as well as children with a disability who require dysphagia management and tube feeding.
Debbie uses responsive feeding techniques in her practice and has, together with Val, developed the Responsive Feeding House Model under their joint business ‘Feeding Therapy Australia’. She currently mentors therapists around Australia and has presented both in Australia and internationally.
ABOUT US
Val
Gent
Val is a speech pathologist who has worked in paediatric feeding difficulties for 20 years.
She has experience both in acute and disability healthcare models and currently owns ‘Let’s Eat! Feeding Therapy’, a dedicated paediatric feeding private practice in Newcastle.
Val has published a kid’s book “I’m NOT Hungry for My Dinner” using the Satter Division of Responsibility principles which received the Ellyn Satter Institute (ESI) seal of approval and was shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia ‘Book of the Year’ awards in 2022.
She also completed her Master of Medical Research at Griffith University in 2023 examining ‘The impact of feeding difficulties on the participation of primary school aged autistic children and their families’ and was given the ‘Award of Excellence in a Research Thesis’.
Val currently presents with Debbie under their company, ‘Feeding Therapy Australia’ and will begin her PhD in 2024.
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