Prof. Dr. Marguerite Dunitz-Scheer has been treating young children with eating and nutrition disorders since 1986. She is truly an expert in treating super picky eaters. Her insights are of great importance to professionals who work with these children and their parents. “Understanding the disorder from the perspective of the child is key,” she urges healthcare professionals. On March 23, Marguerite will provide an English-language webinar from IMH Nederland and Vakblad Vroeg. She therefore offers space for asking questions. An interpreter will translate the webinar simultaneously.
Many young children are very picky eaters or even dependent on a tube. prof. Dr. Marguerite Dunitz-Scheer specializes in serious nutritional and behavioral disorders that result from this. “It concerns a non-homogeneous clinical group, ranging from children with extreme sensory disturbances to problems in the interaction between parents and children. It is impossible to describe this growing group with one term!”
Multidisciplinary approach
All kinds of care disciplines have to deal with very difficult eating young children. Think of dieticians, speech therapists or behavioral experts. That is precisely why Marguerite recommends a multidisciplinary approach. “Each professional can only grasp the complexity of these disorders through his or her very personal lens. This applies to both assessment and treatment. So the more diverse a team is, the better and more specific we can help.”
No tube
Her research work has resulted, among other things, in a unique treatment method to help children with severe eating disorders. This method is known worldwide under the name ‘No tube’. The method is based on the fact that what parents ask of care providers is often very different from what the child needs to progress. “That is why the child always comes first at No tube.” Another unique feature is the realization that pediatric wards of hospitals are not good places for eating disorder treatment. “They smell too clean and something like ‘playing dirty food’ is not welcome, especially all day long. In addition, many children have traumatic associations with a hospital due to their complex medical history.”
Eating school and e-coaching
The success of the method has led, among other things, to the establishment of the Notube-Eating school. A 24/7/365 online support service has also been created. Marguerite is currently working on a cookbook for families based on her experiences with picky eaters.
Marguerite encourages anyone interested in the fascinating complexities of early eating disorders to attend the webinar. In addition to Marguerite, an experienced Dutch parent also speaks. She talks about her experiences with the eating school and the e-coaching of Notube.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions during the webinar. If you want to discuss a specific situation in detail, you can do so via email after the webinar.
Finally, Marguerite warns that working with these children and their parents will always be a challenge. “Don’t think that after following my webinar it will be easy. Even after 40 years and thousands of encounters with families facing serious nutritional challenges, I still find each new patient fascinating and a resource to learn more!”
