With the addition of the new diagnosis, ICD-10 Code for Pediatric Feeding Disorder, colleagues across the country have had to work diligently to educate allied health and medical practitioners regarding the four domains of the code (feeding skill, nutrition, medical, and psychosocial), and when it is appropriate to diagnose (Goday et al.). SLPs also had to educate themselves regarding the scope of practice in completing clinical swallow evaluations for the new code. Why the concern? Two of the four domains embedded within the code also fall under the scope of practice of the licensed registered dietitians and occupational therapists who are part of the interprofessional practice team for pediatric patients. However, how do we ethically proceed to complete a comprehensive clinical swallow evaluation to obtain a pediatric feeding disorder diagnosis that also respects our colleague's scope of practice? How do we then take the information obtained and make the necessary referrals to grow the IPP team? How do we write intervention goals based on the results of the dynamic clinical swallow evaluation that are neurodiversity-affirming and child-led? How do we write goals for patients in early intervention that are based on caregiver coaching? Or better yet, how do we write goals for school-aged students with a pediatric feeding disorder that also align with the IEP? This course will answer these questions and empower clinicians to serve this population confidently.
