Adventures in Feeding with Melanie Potock

Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, serves as the Director of Clinical Education and Assistant Professor with James Madison University. Additionally, she is the acclaimed host of “First Bite: Fed, Fun, Functional” a weekly Speech Therapy Podcast that addresses “all thangs” Pediatric Speech Therapy, and is presented by SpeechTherapyPD.com. Michelle authored, "Chasing the Swallow: Truth, Science, and Hope for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders". She is an accomplished lecturer; traveling across the nation delivering courses on best practices for the evaluation and treatment of the medically complex infant, toddlers, and children with respect to their pediatric oropharyngeal dysphagia, pediatric feeding disorder, as well as language acquisition within the framework of Early Intervention. She has served as the Treasurer for the Council of State Association Presidents (CSAP), is a Past President of the South Carolina Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (SCSHA), a graduate of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Leadership Development Program (ASHA LDP), a recipient of the Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Champion from Feeding Matters, a recipient of the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for Outstanding Clinical Achievement from the SCSHA, a recipient of the State Clinical Achievement Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Foundation, recognized as an ASHA Innovator in 2023, and ten-time recipient of ASHA’s ACE Award for continuing education.

Melanie Potock treats children birth to teens who have difficulty eating. Melanie’s advice has been shared in a variety of television and print media, including The New York Times, Huffington Post and Parents Magazine. She is the co-author of the award-winning Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating (2015) and Baby Self-Feeding: Solutions for Introducing Purees and Solids to Create Lifelong Healthy Eating Habits (2016). Her popular food activity book, titled Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Kids Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes (2018) is based on the research and Melanie’s 20 years of success as a pediatric feeding therapist. Melanie is the author of Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids (2010) and the producer of the award-winning kids’ CD Dancing in the Kitchen: Songs that Celebrate the Joy of Food! Her children’s storybook includes tips for parents on how to use pretend play to encourage adventurous eating in kids ages two to six years. You are Not an Otter: The Story of How Kids Become Adventurous Eaters and all of Melanie’s books can be found at www.amazon.com/author/melaniepotock. Melanie’s live and online courses for parents and professionals can be found at www.MelaniePotock.com.