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Childhood Feeding Disorders

No two childhood feeding disorders are alike – a feeding disorder in a child may include problems gathering food, or it may appear as difficulty getting ready to suck, chew or swallow food. For example, a child who cannot pick up food and get it into their mouth – or cannot completely close their lips to keep food from falling out of their mouth – may have a feeding disorder.

About Me

LAURIE WALTER
Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Laurie started her career working with children with autism spectrum disorder as an applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapist as both an undergraduate and graduate student in UWM’s Speech-Language Pathology program and has extensive experience treating pediatric patients via speech-language therapy, feeding/swallowing therapy and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices in both outpatient clinics and in-home settings.

Laurie has worked with a variety of treatment diagnoses in communication and feeding disorders such as failure to thrive, prematurity, oral and pharyngeal dysphagia, G-tube fed, avoidant and restrictive feeding, chronic feeding difficulties and speech-language disorders; she has a large knowledge base in children with – but not limited to – autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and developmental delays.

“Our family met Laurie when our oldest son was 2 years old, after his diagnosis on the autism spectrum. He had many early intervention therapists for social development and speech, and was nonverbal when he first started working with Laurie. Laurie was the one therapist our son was always excited to see. Her expertise, coupled with her dedication, passion and love for her work with children were the perfect combination for our son. He was incredibly receptive to her inviting gentle nature. Her patience, kindness and phenomenal ability to read his needs resulted in huge strides in our son’s speech and ability to communicate. She was an integral part of his success and growth.”

--Therese

"Laurie is an amazing SLP! She makes appointments fun for kids and helps them progress at the same time. Our daughter loves seeing her! I would highly recommend her to any parents or caregivers looking for an SLP for their child!"

-- Vanessa

“Laurie has worked with my twins for over 4 years. She is absolutely wonderful!!! She is very patient, kind, and very creative. My twins both are nonverbal and on the Autism Spectrum. She helped them with nonverbal communication and then helped set them up and use their AAC devices, so they can communicate with the world. She also provided them with feeding therapy and helped them make strides when it came to tolerating different textures of food, helping chewing foods, and oral motor skills. It’s hard to find people who love what they do, Laurie definitely loves what she does and truly cares for her clients. She has a big heart and it shows, with how hard she works with them to help her clients succeed and reach goals! I highly recommend her and her services she is one of a kind!”

-- Annette

Welcome to EatPlayConnect

Childhood Feeding Disorders

About Me