Today’s focus is on pediatric occupational therapy and how it helps many families with a variety of feeding, swallowing, and developmental issues.
Aviril (Apple) Sepulveda, OTD, MS, OTR/L, BSP, SCFES, IBCLC is a board-certified pediatric occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience. She spent most of her career in pediatrics at a children’s hospital in metropolitan Los Angeles where she specialized in infant feeding and swallowing and infant development. She also holds the AOTA Specialty Certification in Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing (SCFES). In addition to her doctorate in Occupational Therapy, she is earning her Ph.D. in Translational Health Sciences at George Washington University.
Show Highlights
- How Apple’s journey brought her to the work she does today
- How she realized the systemic issue (and the broken system) of overlooking the care of moms in treating their babies
- An overview of occupational therapy and the work of an infant feeding specialist
- Why feeding issues add a lot of additional stress and shame for parents
- What Apple notices about the screening process for postpartum depression and why support partners are important for primary caregivers
- How Apple’s work tries to connect parents with available services that can alleviate their stress in many areas
- How infant mental health is shaped by their environment and experiences
- Why special needs kids need their moms to be “on” all the time–which is difficult
- How Nurture Collective works to support parents
- Dr. Apple’s basic tips for struggling parents
Resources
Connect with Dr. Apple Sepulveda: www.mynurturecollective.com
