Hallie Bulkin explains that chewing is a motor skill, not a preference. Clinicians should assess the actual chew pattern—vertical, diagonal, or rotary motion—rather than just noting that a child avoids hard foods. Video examples in the resource Feed the Bees show what to look for.
There was a big motor component here, and that's why understanding the chewing progression changes everything about how you assess and how you treat. So next time you see a child who's stuck on soft textures or they're pocketing food, I want you to look behind, you know, beyond that behavior that's surface level, and ask, like, what's happening with their chew pattern? Are they vertical, diagonal, or rotary? And if you want to see, like, real video example. Video examples of these two stages and, like, learn how to assess them clinically. I got. Because we were asked by so many students in the past to just have more examples of this. So we have them inside. Feed the bees.
What I Was Missing in Feeding Therapy: ARFID, Airway, and Myo with Samy Hernandez
