OBJECTIVE Maternal problem-solving abilities, as they related to specific child-rearing situations, were examined and compared among mothers of infants with failure to thrive (FTT) and a matched group of comparison mothers. METHODS Participants were 37 mothers of children diagnosed with FTT and 37 mothers with normally growing children matched on three child variables and five maternal variab...

Children who "fail to thrive" are frequently referred to occupational therapists. Yet there is no organized protocol that therapists could use to assess these children. This paper reviews criteria that distinguish organic from nonorganic "failure to thrive" and describes the occupational therapist's contribution to the evaluation process. An occupational therapy protocol is presented to facilit...

1. Characterize the limitations of the classic dichotomy of “nonorganic” versus “organic” failure to thrive (FTT). 2. Recognize that FTT is not a diagnosis but rather a physical sign of inadequate nutrition to support growth. 3. Know potential sequelae of FTT. 4. Understand how the diagnostic process must account for the multifactorial nature of FTT. 5. Describe a systems-based, multidisciplina...

BACKGROUND Failure to thrive impairs children's weight gain and growth, their defenses against infection, and their psychomotor and intellectual development. METHODS This paper is a review of pertinent articles that were published from 1995 to October 2010 and contained the terms "failure to thrive", "underweight", "malnutrition", "malabsorption", "maldigestion" and "refeeding syndrome". The ...

Failure to thrive in childhood is a state of undernutrition due to inadequate caloric intake, inadequate caloric absorption, or excessive caloric expenditure. In the United States, it is seen in 5 to 10 percent of children in primary care settings. Although failure to thrive is often defined as a weight for age that falls below the 5th percentile on multiple occasions or weight deceleration tha...