PURPOSE OF REVIEW There is increased recognition in the range of feeding and swallowing problems that occur in conjunction with congenital and acquired pediatric conditions. Differential diagnosis and management of these problems is often not straightforward and requires consideration and collaboration between multiple disciplines that are involved in the care of this special population. This a...

OBJECTIVE To propose a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to feeding problems in early childhood. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE Articles were retrieved through a MEDLINE search from January 1990 to December 2005 using the MeSH terms eating disorders, infant, and child. Recommended practice is based mainly on levels II and III evidence. MAIN MESSAGE Feeding problems are classified under structural ab...

teractive process that varies across children and is embedded in multiple social levels, extending from the family through cultural factors. The ecological model is based on systems theory, in which changes in any one component of the model affect all other components. Children are conceptualized as active contributors within their primary context-the family. At a broader level, feeding is infl...