Our team is made up of highly skilled occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and a dietician, working as a collaborative team to ensure a well-rounded treatment approach for every client. Every therapist on our team has extensive experience, training, and education in the responsive feeding approach.
Carla is the owner and CEO of The Responsive Feeding Centre of BC. Carla has been practicing in speech language pathology since 2007. She has a passion for working within a neurodiversity-affirming framework and is also leading the clinical team at Victoria Speech and Language Centre in learning from autistic voices and unlearning many of the ableist ways clinicians are taught in graduate school. This work has led the team to dive into neurodiversity affirming ways of supporting our most anxious and restricted eaters. She is passionate about supporting families and mealtimes in a way that prioritizes the child-parent relationship and reduces overall mealtime stress. As a mom of 2 active boys, she has seen many responsive feeding strategies improve her own family’s and friends mealtimes and allow her boys more autonomy in exploring new foods at their own pace. She has learned from her many years of working with families how stressful the simple act of feeding their children can be and is committed to supporting life long mealtime peace and providing parents with the strategies to help their child learn the skills needed to feel safe in exploring new foods.
Shannon is an Occupational Therapist who graduated with her MSc.OT from Queen’s University in 2018. She has extensive experience working with neurodivergent individuals of all ages. Shannon feels passionately about the area of feeding therapy because she is a sensory eater herself! Most of Shannon’s life she was only able to tolerate eating 10-15 foods, and was quite familiar with being called a “picky eater”. Only in the last few years did she start intuitively implementing all of the strategies used in the responsive feeding program to feel safe exploring and trying new foods. Think, tiny microscopic bites, preparing food for someone else with no demand to eat it, smelling new foods, licking new foods, etc. This lived experience helps Shannon understand how sensory eaters might be feeling, and can help parents and caregivers understand how to help. Shannon has also completed extensive training in various responsive and sensory feeding and eating approaches, including Responsive Feeding Pro, and the Get Permission Approach to Anxious Eaters and Anxious Mealtimes. Shannon is passionate about helping individuals and families build a happy and healthy relationship with food and eating. Shannon has taken the following professional education courses related to feeding and eating therapy:
-The Get Permission Approach To Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes: The Get Permission Institute
-Responsive Feeding Therapy: The Foundational Series: Responsive Feeding PRO
– Foundations of Feeding for OTs: Anatomy, Physiology, Terms and Tools
– Feeding and Nutrition Intervention for Children on the Autism Spectrum
– Mouth Moves: Helping Parents Support Oral Motor Development in Their Children for Pediatric Feeding Success
– Collaboration of OT (occupational therapy) and RD (registered dietician) in the Treatment of Infants and Toddlers in the Pediatric Clinical Setting
– Crumbs as a Tool in Pediatric Feeding Transitions
Tieghan is a speech-language pathologist who graduated with her masters degree from the University of Alberta. She has clinical experience working with neurodivergent children and teens ranging from 18 months to 16 years, and also has experience assessing feeding and swallowing with adults. Tieghan really connected to the responsive feeding approach and how it prioritizes felt safety and building trusting relationships with food and the people we explore food with. Tieghan has enjoyed learning how to incorporate a neurodiversity affirming approach into her therapy and honouring all different kinds of communication and participation styles. She feels passionate about helping children expand their ability to communicate about food, no matter what modality, and find a way to participate in mealtimes that feels right for them. She is excited to help families support their children in developing happy, healthy relationships with food. Tieghan has taken the following professional education courses related to responsive feeding:
• The Get Permission Approach to Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes, Get Permission Institute
• Responsive Feeding Therapy: The Foundational Series, Responsive Feeding PRO
• AEIOU: An Integrated Approach to Paediatric Feeding, Food Smart Kids
• Parent Coaching Skills for Paediatric Feeding Specialists (Level 1), Responsive Feeding PRO
• Assessment of Picky Eaters, Get Permission Institute
Georgia is an occupational therapist who was born and raised on beautiful Vancouver Island in the city of Nanaimo. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She has clinical experience working with neurodivergent children and teens ranging from ages 3-17 and also with adults in mental health settings. Georgia is passionate about responsive feeding approaches due to its foundational focus on positive mental health, autonomy, and relationship building. She believes that everyone deserves to enjoy experiences with food, connection-building opportunities, and rituals that mealtimes offer. Georgia recognizes the importance of using family-centered approaches in progressing towards goals especially as it relates to meeting families where they are at in their child’s feeding journey. Georgia has taken the following courses related to responsive feeding:
-The Get Permission Approach to Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes, Get Permission Institute
-Responsive Feeding Therapy: The Foundational Series, Responsive Feeding PRO
Celise is our registered dietitian with the Responsive Feeding Program of BC, and is registered with the college of dietitians of BC. Celise earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Food Nutrition and Health from the University of British Columbia and has been serving as a pediatric dietitian at BC Children’s Hospital since 2017. Throughout her tenure, she has undertaken diverse roles, honing her skills in assessing and treating pediatric nutrition and feeding challenges, including selective eating, sensory sensitivities, food aversions, and feeding tube dependence. Her compassionate approach emphasizes building trust and confidence in children as they explore new foods and eating experiences.
Celise collaborates closely with families, caregivers, and multidisciplinary teams to
develop personalized nutrition plans when addressing feeding issues. Drawing on evidence-based strategies and innovative techniques, Celise empowers families with practical tools and resources to foster positive mealtime experiences and promote healthy relationships with food which ultimately preserves a child’s nutritional wellbeing.
Currently residing in Vancouver, Celise also does great work with the Sunny Hill Health Centers Feeding team. When she is not supporting families with their feeding goals, Celise can be found spending quality time with her husband and two children as well as biking, hiking, and beekeeping on her rooftop garden.
Our commitment extends beyond treating feeding challenges, aiming to empower both children and parents with the tools and knowledge to create a lasting foundation for a lifetime of healthy and enjoyable eating experiences.
