- Specializing  in  the  Treatment  of  Pediatric  Feeding  Disorders -

Home | About Us | Our Program | Facilities | Success Stories | Testimonials
Medical Implications | Reflux | Allergies | Motility | Research | Internship Program | Contact Us
Links | For UK Families | Hospital and Clinic Consulting

Testimonials:

What our clients are saying about the Los Altos feeding Clinic.

Uma - mother of 5 year old twins
My daughter Nitya went from eating nothing by mouth to completely getting all her nutritional needs met by oral feeding in just 10 weeks. My name is Uma and I am mother of 5 year old twins (two of surviving 25 week preemie triplets). My daughter Nitya came home from the NICU at 5 months with a G-tube. Following that, at 8 months she was on tracheotomy for the next 3 years. During this time she was not eating by mouth at all and was followed by OTs for oral-motor sensory issues. Since her decannulation in Dec 2004, we tried several approaches: home cooked blenderized food through G-tube, getting her to be hungry, sensory approaches, etc. all supervised under an OT - but these did not get her to eat by mouth. In March 2006, my occupational therapist suggested that I contact Benjamin Zimmerman at Los Altos Feeding clinic… Now I am feeding her at home and this has been such an amazing experience for us to see her accept food by mouth.

Also in the last 5 years we could not get Nitya's teeth cleaned. Her dentist suggested that she may need general anesthesia for a complete cleaning. Well, now since we started the behavioral therapy she is allowing me to brush her teeth. She has also randomly spoken 20 words and is imitating babbling now. Nitya has made tremendous progress in the last few months.

Watch video: Nitya now self-feeds

Audrey – mother of Vivian (18 months old)
Vivian was a 35 week preemie born at 4 pounds 5 ounces and 15 1/2 inches long. At birth her right lung collapsed. She remained in the NICU for over a month. During her stay she had her first genetic test which came back negative for major syndromes, such as Down Syndrome. Vivian has been tested for over 100 genetic syndromes, all negative. She was unable to eat much due to her vaulted palate, bifid uvula, and a submucous cleft. Vivian had every test (swallow study, upper GI, etc.), every evaluation (speech, ENT, GI, etc.), and also seen a ton of specialists all over the country. No one was able to do much about her eating. She had been able to suck from a bottle for a few months and eat about 1/8 a jar of baby food.

When Vivian started eating less and less, we turned to the Los Altos Feeding Clinic in July of 2006 after finding them on the internet. Vivian was at the Los Altos Feeding Clinic for a total of 5 weeks. During that time various techniques were customized by Ben Zimmerman to help Vivian to eat. By the end of the 5 weeks I was doing all food preparation, calculations, and feeding. Vivian went from taking 690 ccs of Pediasure to eating up to 1680 calories by mouth!

Linda - mother of 26 week twin preemies with cystic fibrosis
My 6 year-old twins were born at 26 weeks gestation and were on ventilators for the first 3 months of their lives before they were finally diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic illness which affects the lungs, pancreas and other mucous producing organs.The long intubation led to severe oral aversion, and the increased acid production,common in children with cf, led to reflux and emesis, contributing further to their aversion.

After many years of feeding therapy that resulted in little progress, we learned of Ben Zimmerman's clinic through their Gastroenterologist's office and also through a client whose older son attended the same kindergarten as my son. I was excited by the progress of her toddler, and called the Los Altos Feeding Clinic for an appointment for my twins in May of 2006. 5 months later, they are no longer tube dependant, they are drinking the special high-calorie formula they have been getting through the tube since birth, and they are eating calorie enriched baby food for the first time in their lives. What is especially remarkable is that all of this was done without having to resort to the technique of introducing hunger to them - which is something we couldn't do because maintaining a high calorie diet is essential to the health and well-being of children with cystic fibrosis. For the first time, we are looking forward to a future in which my children can enjoy food and all the social milestones where food plays such an important role.

Thank you Los Altos Feeding Clinic and Mr. Zimmerman!

Helen --- Mother of Rebecca
Rebecca is 2 years old, she has a rare metabolic disorder (UMPS), which means that she can’t produce enough energy to grow & develop. She has been diagnosed with failure to thrive and developmental delay.

She was born at 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) and from the start had difficulty feeding, she had recurrent thrush in her mouth and would not suck. She was weaned at 4 months and seemed to enjoy solid foods more than milk but she still did not gain sufficient weight. At 4 months we were told there was something wrong and investigations started. At 6 months Rebecca was placed on an NG tube as her weight was so low. She remained on the NG tube for 7 months, at this stage her doctors wanted to give her a G-tube. Rather that let her go through this we managed to wean her onto drinking from a cup and managed to get her to drink sufficient high formula milk to enable us to get rid of the tube altogether.

Rebecca was finally diagnosed when she was 16 months old and was placed on medication. At this stage we felt it was time to try and resolve her feeding difficulties as she could now get the necessary calories and energy from her food. All the interventions that had given her nutrition had resulted in a complete phobia for eating. She would not open her mouth for food, if we managed to get any food in her mouth she gagged or vomited. To get her to drink sufficient high calorie milk we had to bribe her 8 –10 time a day with books and music. Her weight gain was very poor and we were again being threatened with the g-tube.

We are based in Ireland and had tried all the usual food desensitisation programs. We searched the web but could find nothing in Ireland or Europe, which would actually make Rebecca eat without giving us advice or starving her. Eventually we came across the Los Altos Feeding Clinic web Site and it seemed to offer what we were looking for. We spoke with Ben Zimmerman and with other parents who had been through Ben’s treatment and we were convinced. We took the 11hr flight to San Francisco and did not look back.

Ben worked one-on-one with Rebecca and had her eating solid foods within 2 days. He modified existing protocols and developed new techniques to deal with Rebecca’s food refusals. After a month Rebecca was taking 1200 –1500 calories orally she had gained 1lb and was being fed 3 times daily. Each session taking just 30 minutes.

In the month since we came home Rebecca has gained 4lbs. She has so much more energy and stamina – we never expected that food would make as big a difference as it has – but every week she seems to hit some minor development milestone. We know that we would never have got her to this level of eating without the Los Altos Feeding Clinic and even better Ben continues to stay in touch and help us fully refine her feeding process.

I have no hesitation in recommending Ben Zimmerman and the Los Altos Feeding Clinic. It works. Thank You!

Jennifer ---- mother of Max who is 3 years old
Hi Moms,
I recently began taking Maxwell, my 3 year old, to a feeding clinic in Los Altos for severe food refusal. Those of you who know me well, know that he has lived off of milk, yogurt, cheese, and crackers for the past two years (I am not exaggerating -- he has never eaten pizza, fruit, macaroni, juice, etc).

I have taken him to see several different pediatricians, a nutritionist, an occupational therapist, and a child psychiatrist, but until recently was unsuccessful in finding someone who could help him. I had tried everything, except putting him in an inpatient behavioral unit (i.e. a hospital setting). I recently discovered the Los Altos Feeding Clinic and started taking him there.

Before going, he refused to try anything (he said he was scared of the food and so on). He has some texture and sensory issues, which is what initially started his food refusal. Ben Zimmerman started working with him, and after only a month, he is eating food at home (all pureed at this point). We will be gradually increasing the texture, until he is eating "real" food. My husband and I are thrilled with the results so far and wanted to share this information, in case you or someone you know is in a similar situation.

Debbie ----Mother to Andrew (16 months old)
Hey there Moms!
My name is Debbie. My son Andrew is 16 months old. He was born full term and weighed 8Lbs 12oz, however he was born with congenital heart disease. At 2 days old he had his first open heart surgery to repair his Aortic valve.

At 7 weeks old he was still in the hospital and had not gained any weight. He refused to drink by mouth. Knowing he needed an other heart surgery, we knew he needed to grow; therefore the next step was a G-Tube.

At 8 weeks old the g-tube was in place and Andy shut down. He refused everything in his mouth; he would gag, wretch, vomit and could only handle about 60 ccs/hour on a continuous pump for 18 hours a day. Life was tough for him and our family. We made it to 6 months for his second heart surgery; a VSD repair and de-banding of his PA valve. Andy came through the surgery ready for life. He had much more energy.

We thought it was time to feed by mouth again. OT, GI's and PT were absolutely no help what so ever. They'd say stop feeding him by mouth the second he gags; I would put a spoon to his mouth and he's gag so the feeding would stop. Their theory didn't work.

After a 3 month wait we were accepted to St Joseph 's in NJ for an intensive feeding program. The first day there Andy ate 4 oz of peaches, so the doctors and behavioral specialists told us to go home and we would have more "FUN" feeding Andy at home. By this time Andy was 1 year old. The next 3 months at home were no "FUN" at all.

Andy shut down, it would take over and hour to feed him 4oz of baby food and he wouldn't drink anything; so back to using the g-tube forever at this point. Until I found Ben Zimmerman at the Los Altos Feeding Clinic. Thank God! Ben took Andy on within weeks of my first phone call to him. Within the first week at the clinic Andy was no longer using his g-tube for nutrients. After 2 weeks of Ben feeding Andy I got to try. Incredible! Less than 30 minutes to feed Andy 8oz of food and 6oz of milk. Real milk, no more formulas!!

We spent 4 full weeks at the clinic and then went home. Everyday gets better, and faster to feed Andy. Ben Zimmerman is a miracle worker; I had lost a hope of Andy ever eating like a normal child, and Ben gave me back hope, and a life. What he gave Andrew is much more. Andy is talking, eating and walking. He is thriving in a matter of a few short weeks. All I can say is trust Ben, he knows!! And trust in yourself and your child that you can get through the feeding by mouth; everyday is a huge improvement. Andy has a chance now at a normal, healthy life because he is eating by mouth. He is much happier, he's personality has changed for the better, even his color has changed from eating real food!!


Eileen--- Mother to Daniel (14 months)
We have used the Los Altos Feeding Clinic (LAFC) and would love to share our experience with it. First a lot of background on our situation. Our child, Daniel, has oral aversion. In other words, he does not tolerate things in his mouth, be it toys or food. This child will literally starve himself to death given the chance.

At two months old, I found that he would react to nursing as if he had reflux. Feed for a few sucks then yank himself away, arching his whole body away from me, crying, kicking and pushing. Nursing was brutal. We figured out that he fed better when he was too sleepy to fight us. So we would schedule his feedings with his nap time – rock him asleep, and start nursing. At four months old I was excited to start him on solids thinking things would be different. We persevered with solid foods for a good four months until he was 8 months old with no progress at all. Then one morning he was intently watching me eat a piece of toast, he seemed quite interested. So I offered it to him. Daniel licked the toast and a TINY speck (size of a pinhead) of a crumb was on his tongue and he started retching. Immediately I swept it out with my finger and called the pediatrician. He said that that was definitely NOT normal and told me to hold off giving him real solid food for now.

I continued trying the jars. If he was given the fruit jars, he was retch the first few bites, and end us taking most of the stage 2 jars vomiting approximately every other day on them. If he was given a vegetable (peas, carrots, sweet potatoes) or protein jar (beef and vegetable, chicken noodle), he would retch, gag, and vomit at the first bite and empty out the entire contents of his stomach. Given how difficult it was to get the food into him, we simply didn’t bother giving him vegetable or protein jars anymore. He readily took the Yobaby jars at first, then he started retching also, vomiting approximately every other day on those too.

He required A LOT of toys and distractions, feeding at the park, in front of the television, or in the bathtub to take jars or yobaby. He required to be rocked asleep for his milk feedings. Things were quite difficult with a lot of cleaning up of his vomit.

The pediatrician referred us to O.T. specializing in oral issues. We were then referred to GI after about 4-5 sessions with minimal progress. The GI said it was classic oral aversion and there was nothing they would do for us. Daniel even went in for an upper GI study and swallow study. Results came back normal except for the fact that he vomited during the study. She recommended the Kennedy Kreiger Institute (KKI) (sp?) in Baltimore Maryland where they have a behavioral feeding clinic. She said that they have success with kids that they can’t help. We were also seen by the Stanford Infant Behavioral and Development Clinic across the street from Lucille Packard Children’s hospital.

Everyone said that Daniel had severe oral/feeding aversion but they all threw their hands up and said they couldn't’t help and did’t know what to do. Then I read a glowing review about the LAFC from a mom who had a picky eater. If I recall correctly, this boy only ate dairy items and breads. He had never eaten a sandwich or fries or any “normal” food that a 3 year old eats.

We went in for an initial evaluation. Ben Zimmerman, the guy who runs the place, observed me feeding Daniel a jar. Then took over the feeding for the last a few bites. When he was done, Ben said that Daniel was “a simple case.” I was shocked because all the medical establishment people had no idea what to do with Daniel. Honestly I had my doubts. It seemed like too confident a statement to make. We went in for another seven sessions and Daniel came out like a different child in two and half weeks. He now takes the protein and vegetable jars, without vomiting. There usually is a retch for the first one or two bites, but these days, he is vomiting approximately once every week or two. And he doesn’t empty the entire contents of his stomach. Daniel will try to make the effort to keep it down. He also has started to take some normal food like scrambled eggs, pasta, Chinese noodles, hamburger, and fries. And we no longer have to give him his milk asleep – he is drinking it from a special cut-out cup that we feed to him.

Daniel started out in the 10th percentile for weight and was quickly dropping as we started the LAFC. The doctors were talking about the possibility of Daniel getting a GI tube. Now he is a little below the 50th percentile for weight and never required the feeding tube. He still has some areas to work on though, like taking more textured foods and weaning him off the baby jars. Our insurance did not cover it although others do, but it was truly worth the expense. It is some of the best money we have EVER spent.

I also know of another family with 6 yr old cystic fibrosis (CF) twins who are classmates with my older child. They were taking most or all of their food through the tube. One of the twins is ready to come off the tube through the work that Ben has done at the LAFC, and the other who did not eat any food orally before is making significant progress.

Best of luck,
Eileen Shih

Vlada---- Mother to Julia (8 months old)
My baby girl who nursed so well in the first month of her life stopped eating when she was 6 weeks old. She could go without eating for up to 11 hours (which is not OK for a 6 weeks old baby). She would not nurse or take a bottle except when asleep. Even when asleep it was a challenge: it would take her 3 hours to finish a 3oz of milk or formula. By the time she finished it was time to feed her again; we were constantly feeding her.

She was diagnosed with reflux and was prescribed Zantac, which helped very little. She was still eating slowly and showing no interest in food. Because she was refusing to nurse or take a bottle for long hours, we started using a dropper or a spoon to feed her. The spillage was high and she would vomit once in while. We went to see a regular hospital feeding therapist who encourages us to continue distracting her attention by showing her toys or TV. We did not even go for a follow up visit because these methods were not effective. Our daughter’s weight gain slowed and I was extremely scared for our baby’s health and development.

I hoped in vain that she would eat better with solids. It would take us an hour to an hour and a half to feed her one meal. She would hold food in her mouth and swallow only if we gave her a pacifier. She eventually developed a dependency on the pacifier to trigger her swallowing. Toys and TV were effective distractions only in a short term.

Then, a couple of months ago I heard about the Los Altos Feeding clinic and Ben Zimmerman who does miracles with babies and kids: THEY START EATING! Kids who never ate by themselves started eating at his clinic.

I cannot describe how much I appreciate what Ben did for us. It was hard to change our behavior during feedings, to pay attention to our own reactions and responses to the baby. But the results have been overwhelmingly successful and worth all the hard work.

Ben showed us techniques that we had never heard of or been shown before. After only one week of feeding her and learning her habits, Ben was able to teach us how to stop using distractions during her meals. We adopted Ben’s protocol on a gradual basis, and brought our daughter’s caregivers into the process on an equally gradual basis. This has worked very well for both baby and adults, and will continue to bear fruit during the coming months.

We know our daughter will continue to improve if we stick with the program – and this is the best program we have seen! I would unreservedly recommend Ben’s feeding clinic to any parent whose baby has feeding issues.

Kathleen ----mother to Kristen (7 years old)
My daughter Kristen was born in March of 2000 with congenital Hydrocephalus, and as a result of elevated intracranial pressure in utero, she suffered an ischemic episode and developed hemiplegic cerebral palsy, severe visual problems, epilepsy, and developmental delay.

Kristen had her first shunt placed when she was 2 days old. She was sent home at 6 lbs, with a nasogastric feeding tube in place and instructions to feed her through the tube whatever she couldn't finish through the bottle. After her 4th neurosurgery at 7 months old, she was still barely 12 lbs. It was suggested that I stop attempting to breast feed and the NG tube was re-inserted, this time it was in for nine months. Because Kristen could not handle the volume, she developed severe reflux, even though we were extremely careful to run the pump very slowly. We would think she was okay, then before we knew it she would be throwing up across the room, choking, and turning blue. The feeding tube that went in through her nose would come up out of her stomach and out of her mouth, and I would need to leap across the room and pull it out. And if that wasn't awful enough, I would then have to re-insert it. Over and over again.

We were referred to a local feeding therapist when Kristen was almost a year old, whose evaluation stated that her "oral-motor components are intact and adequate for the management of liquids from a bottle and pureed foods from a utensil other than a spoon. At this time Kristen has an oral aversion to the spoon and when it approaches she closes her mouth and turns away. She seems, however, to enjoy the taste and texture of the food that is offered to her either by finger or by dropper."

At this time, I began to feed Kristen with a 1 ml dropper, because of her "oral aversion to the spoon". As you can imagine, it was an extraordinarily time-consuming process. I continued to do so until some other well-meaning therapists said that I shouldn't try to feed her when she didn't want to eat and suggested that we go back to feeding her with a bottle until she "wants to eat". By this time, I had managed to get her into the 5-10th percentile on the growth charts, and her "failure to thrive" diagnosis was considered resolved.

Time passed, Kristen was almost 3 years old, and ready to enter the school system. Her main nourishment was still Pediasure from a bottle. No one knew what to do about her feeding situation. I knew she wasn't getting enough, but I didn't want her to have a feeding tube placed because if an infection were to occur in the G-tube site, it could travel to her other shunt endings and end up infecting them, which could have deadly consequences. We prayed and prayed that every year, she would somehow "start eating". How that was supposed to happen was a mystery to all, as she was still turning away from the spoon. She underwent her 8th neurosurgery for shunt malfunction when she was 3 1/2. She remained on Pediasure in a bottle for the next 3 years, when we re-initiated feeding therapy with the same therapist.

By this time, Kristen had fallen off of the height chart, and was barely on the weight chart. We were given almost the same advice from the feeding therapist as we had the first time. The doctors said her intake needed to be at least 1400 cals per day, but when we began trying to give her that much she fought even more. When the school nurse contacted me and said there was a problem with "restraining" Kristen at school so she would eat, I felt that I had reached the end of my rope. Maybe I would need to pull Kristen out of school so I could feed her at home all day so she would be able to get the appropriate amount of calories the doctors recommended. I wondered if anyone knew what a nightmare we were going through, and how almost the only thing I could think about from the moment I got up in the morning until the time I went to bed at night was the amount of food/Pediasure/calories that Kristen had consumed for the day and if it had "been enough". Of course I knew that most of the time it hadn't, and the anxiety it produced was almost unbearable. There seemed to be no place to turn.

I went online and searched again for help. This time, the Los Altos Feeding Clinic came up, and I read and read all of the success storied and testimonials of children that Ben had helped to eat. It seemed almost too good to be true. I called that afternoon and spoke with Ben, who listened carefully and was optimistic about Kristen's abilities.

We went in for an evaluation a few days later, and showed Ben how Kristen wouldn't eat. He said it was a pretty "straightforward case" and we almost fell over. We made an appointment for the following morning.

The next morning, Ben was able to get 9oz. of thick pureed baby food in Kristen in 15 minutes. We continued for 3 sessions per week for about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, and then I learned how to feed Kristen. After 7 years, Kristen's caloric intake is now up to over 1400 calories per day of thick pureed food, she is being fed entirely by a spoon and a cup from the front, each meal averages less that 15 minutes, and she is completely off of Pediasure and the bottle. We look forward to continuing to work with Ben to upgrade the texture of Kristen's food and to facilitating her to self feed as well.

To this day, I don't understand why this help was so hard to find. Did I mention that I am an occupational therapist? Did I mention that I have had access to the "best of the best" as far as feeding therapists are concerned, both on the web as well as through the continuing education that I have access to as a healthcare professional? I have read book after book, article after article, on sensory integration theories, occupational therapy intervention, adaptive feeding techniques, gastroesophageal motility issues, etc., etc., etc. In looking back, I realize that these behavioral techniques could have been employed with Kristen following that initial feeding evaluation, when Kristen was less than a year old. Why did it take over 6 more years?

We remain profoundly thankful to Ben Zimmerman and the Los Altos Feeding Clinic for the therapy that we feel "saved our lives". If that sounds somewhat extreme, consider the psychosocial ramifications of being out in public with a 15 year old drinking a bottle. Every piece of literature that I researched stated that feeding problems do not get better, they get worse with time. And the insertion of a feeding tube into Kristen's stomach had the potential of deadly ramifications. But even in my training as an occupational therapist, feeding tubes are seen as "necessary" and "beneficial" when a child refuses to eat. The risks, the strain on the family, and the daily stress of the care of a child with a feeding tube are something no doctor or therapist can begin to explain.

Thanks Ben, more than you will ever know.

Marion--- mother to Luke (4 years old)
I am the mother of a four year old little boy that ate normally solid foods from a spoon up to the time he was fifteen months old, which was exactly the moment his brother was born. Subsequently, he would only take the bottle and refused solid food. The bottles were like a smoothie, filled with protein, carbs, vegetables and fruits. We went to a food clinic within a hospital, went to many different therapists and consultants, to no avail. Prior to starting the program with Ben, my son would drink eight to nine bottles a day and would eat occasionally a yogurt, refusing any other solid food.

The first session with Ben, my son was fed 8 oz. of solid food with the spoon. We saw Ben approximately for 3 1/2 weeks, mostly three times a week. My son is now fed solid food with the spoon and drinks from an open cup. He has three meals a day, no bottles, and is rather happy to sit down and eat.

I am thrilled and overwhelmed with the success of Ben's method. I wish I could tell all the parents out there that have feeding difficulties with their children, do not waste your time and money to go down the road of therapies after therapies. Go to Ben, his method works like a miracle. Some people may think it is hard to go through it, but it really is not. It is in the best interest of your child. Thank you Ben! May many parents benefit from your knowledge.

Marion

Mary –--Mother of Zach with multiple food allergies and reflux
My son Zach is 22 months old.  At two months of age he began arching his back and refusing to nurse awake.  Blood appeared in his stool and spit up, and he developed eczema.  He was diagnosed with a dairy allergy and gastroesophageal reflux disease, but despite trying an elimination diet and Zantac he continued to refuse food when awake (both liquids and solids).  His weight gain stalled, dropping from the 50th percentile to below the 5th percentile over the next 6 months, and he was diagnosed with a feeding aversion and failure to thrive.

Subsequent RAST allergy testing revealed that Zach had multiple food allergies, and at one year of age he was put on 100% Neocate hypoallergenic formula.  His reflux medication was also changed to Prevacid, and then to Prilosec to see if that would help. By the time Zach was 18 months old we felt that his allergies and reflux were finally under control, but he still continued to refuse food. His eating was 99.5% from a bottle and mostly while asleep, and his weight remained around the 5th percentile.

We consulted speech/feeding therapists, several GI doctors and a nutritionist, and had numerous tests done (upper GIs, endoscopies, colonoscopy, etc.) to see if we had missed something. Meanwhile, every day we counted each ounce of food he consumed and struggled desperately to give him the minimum amount of calories he needed in order to keep him from dropping off the growth curve completely and needing a tube.

All of that changed when we brought Zach to the Los Altos Feeding Clinic. On the very first day, Ben was able to get Zach to eat pureed foods from a spoon, and in quantities we couldn’t believe.  Before coming to the clinic, the most pureed food Zach had ever eaten at one sitting was 2 oz, and that was rare. But Ben fed him 7 –8 ounces at each meal that first day, and in only a few minutes!  By the end of his therapy I was feeding Zach up to 11 oz. of food per meal (purees from a spoon and formula from an open cup) and he had gained 1 pound.

It has been almost three weeks now since we returned home from the clinic, and we have been able to continue feeding Zach very successfully using the protocol Ben taught us. Although he has a ways to go before he is eating age-appropriate foods, we are amazed at the progress he has made, and thrilled to see that his weight has already climbed back up to the 25th percentile! He also has so much energy I can barely keep up with him.

Prior to coming to the clinic, we had Zach evaluated at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) in Baltimore.  They told us we would have to wait 6 months to enter their intensive Day Treatment Program, we would need to be there for 8 weeks, and in the meantime they would recommend that we get Zach a G-tube!  When I heard that, I knew we had made the right choice in coming to see Ben first – even if it meant we had to travel from the East Coast to California.  Unlike KKI, Ben was able to see us within a few weeks, he completed our therapy in less than 5 weeks, and he is committed to keeping kids OFF the tube, which was exactly what we wanted for Zach.  He also provided just the sort of supportive environment and tailored flexible program we were looking for.

We are SO grateful that we found Ben and the Los Altos Feeding Clinic!!! If your child has feeding issues, we cannot recommend Ben’s program highly enough.

Sumaya----Mother to Rimaan (5 months old, only eats in sleep)
Our son had severe food refusal/oral aversion when he was 5 months old. He would absolutely refuse to take his milk. He would go 17 hours without getting hungry and we would feed him using dropper.

His weight was steadily dropping, so we had to take great pains to make sure he gets something. It would take 1 to 2 hrs to feed him just 4 ounces of milk in his sleep and all we would do in a typical day is feed him.

He required a lot of toys and distractions. Sometimes he required to be put asleep for his milk feedings which also was quite impossible as he was deep sleeper and would stop sucking after 1 or 2 ounces.

And after all this effort, he would throw up. Things were quite difficult with a lot of cleaning up of his throw-up. He would always gag and throw up whatever was fed. We had to literally force feed him to make sure he got the bare minimum. This was becoming increasing stressful on me and my husband that we both had to take time off from work to take care of our son.

We also tried solids on him which was even more disastrous, as he would throw up the milk he had in the previous feeding. We were not even successful in getting him to take even 1 small spoonful of food. Because of the stress, my health was getting impacted too.

After hearing about success stories about Los Altos Feeding Clinic from numerous feeding support groups and our GI specialist, who was familiar with the clinic, gave us a referral to Los Altos Feeding Clinic.

Within the first week, we could see difference in our son’s mealtime behavior. The feeding therapist Ben Zimmerman confirmed Rimaan's problem as behavioral. The therapist used a certain behavioral approach to feed Rimana. The treatment had its course of 4 weeks with 3 visits per week.

Rimaan's food intake improved dramatically after the 2nd week. I could get my son to open his mouth and eat. Because of consuming solid food, his liquid intake improved. Now my son eats very nutritious foods because of which he has gained a few pounds. From 5th percentile, he is now in the 50th percentile. 

Previously he would throw up at least 4 times a day his complete feeding and now it is just once a day. This program has certainly worked for us so far.  This has been our miracle.

We extend our grateful thanks to Los Altos Feeding Clinic for helping us out and restoring normalcy in our lives. Now I can do other fun things with my son besides just feeding him. The support system, resources, and information from Los Altos Feeding clinic is excellent and helped us through this ordeal.

Sara--- mother of 11 year old
My daughter Ria has cerebral palsy from birth.  I am her mom Sara, and a scientist by profession.  As a little baby Ria had a lot of oral sensory issues and through the first few years of her life she had a lot of feeding issues, particularly fussy about what and how much she wanted to eat. This gradually went away and she turned out to be someone who enjoys eating her meals. However drinking continued to be a big issue.

Ria almost always refuses to drink and the only thing I can get her to even consider drinking is water. Her teachers at school are always complaining about how little she drinks and how she refuses a drink any time she is asked or offered. Additionally she always showed extreme aversion to cold drinks. 

We approached Ben Zimmerman with this dilemma a few months back this year to see if behavioral therapy may be a way to help Ria with this challenge.  Ben was recommended to us by some of my friends who had success with feeding challenges in working with him. 

Additionally many of these kids were from the autistic spectrum so I wasn’t sure if Ben would work with a child with CP.  I was pleasantly surprised that Ben did not approach the child from their diagnosis and actually felt that behavioral therapy can be applied to any child. Additionally his work was not restricted to feeding alone but drinking could also be tackled in the same manner. With this information we started our sessions.

Ben was able to within a few sessions get Ria to drink a significant volume of drinks and also increased the variety of drinks she would take. He was able to get her to drink water, milk and juices at cold and warm temperatures. 

We found Ben to be fantastic in his style of interaction with Ria being steady and compassionate.  He also was able to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it, very clearly to us, which allowed us to understand the process better and helped in our follow-through at home. I was also impressed by how systematic Ben was in his approach. 

We have now been working with Ben’s protocol at home and Ria continues to drink more than she every did before. It is exciting to see this progress and we look forward to continuing the work so that she begins to really ask for the drinks one day. The great thing is that Ben is also a great resource and is always available to answer questions.

I highly recommend this method and Ben to anyone who has a child with any diagnosis or no diagnosis but who simply has challenges in feeding and drinking.

Nicole---Mother of Greg (4 year old with severe autism)
Our son was almost 5 years old when he entered the Los Altos feeding clinic. Greg had feeding problems all his life and for over a year had refused all solid food. He never had medical problems; however, he is autistic and sensory issues arising from autism caused a strong aversion to putting anything in his mouth.

We tried several years of feeding therapy in our home town with no success. Our insurance recommended a hospital based feeding program but they were unwilling to treat our son due to behaviors related to his autism.

Fortunately we found Ben Zimmerman at the Los Altos feeding clinic. Ben's feeding method broke down our son's aversion to food in just a few days, and soon he was taking baby food willingly. The program trained us to feed our son properly in different locations. We went home after just 3 weeks.

We were worried about our son continuing to eat after going home where there was a long history of food refusal, but the feeding program was so solid that our son had few problems. In fact, he now asks to eat when he is hungry. We are thrilled with the results of this feeding program.

Ellie---mom to Sava (17 months)
Our son, Sava, came to the Los Altos feeding clinic when he was almost sixteen months old. At that point, his weight had fallen off the charts and his height was starting to slip as well.

As an infant, Sava had bloody stools and moderate reflux, which later got diagnosed as allergies to dairy and soy; through food trials, we've determined that he is allergic to several other foods as well. Sava breastfed well and exclusively for the first six months, with me on a strict dairy/soy free diet.

He started becoming a distracted nurser when we started to introduce solids, and by nine months he was nursing so erratically that I was forced to switch over to pumping in order to make sure that he drank the required amount of breastmilk. I continued to pump--a full-time round-the-clock job--until we came to the Los Altos feeding clinic, since breastmilk was the only nutritious food Sava was guaranteed to take on a regular basis.

We started Sava on solids at six months, but he never took to the spoon with enthusiasm; around nine months, he stopped taking the spoon altogether, and we followed the advice of pediatricians, as well as an occupational therapist, not to push him. He self-fed from eight until sixteen months, but because his diet was already limited and he became increasingly picky, by sixteen months he was eating very few foods, and he was not getting enough calories. If we tried to give him anything from a spoon, he would push us away and start crying and fussing. To make things worse, because we were so desperate to have him eat, we gradually helped him develop all sorts of bad eating habits: breakfast only at the park while playing, french fries almost every dinner, the list goes on.

We came to the Los Altos feeding clinic with one hope: to help Sava learn to eat from a spoon and to convince him to take in more, and more varied, calories; we also hoped that I would be able to get off the pump, since pumping had left me with no time to work or rest.

After four weeks of therapy with Ben, and many emotional ups and downs, we were able to take Sava home and to feed him three 6 oz. solid meals a day. Instead of the three or four foods that we had come to rely on as his main staple, we can now feed him everything to which he is not allergic. Meals last an average of fifteen minutes, and we no longer worry that he is not getting enough nutrients. Sava is still not the enthusiastic eater that some children are born to be, but his behavior during mealtimes is unrecognizable from what it was six weeks ago. To say simply that Ben Zimmerman and the Los Altos feeding clinic have been a blessing would not convey the extent of our gratitude. Our lives have been transformed.

Ann---mother of Kathryn (12 months)
Katie was born with a cleft palate and throat muscle palsy which made it very difficult for her to drink.  At 8 months she underwent surgery to repair her cleft which left her traumatized and unwilling to take a bottle or sippy cup.  She would only consume milk by spoon and it was not enough to sustain her growth or cognitive development.  She had fallen off the charts in height and weight despite us spending practically all our time struggling to get her to eat.  At the Los Altos Feeding Clinic we were taught new feeding protocols and how to prepare high calorie, nutritionally dense food so now meal times are no longer a fight and Katie's steadily gaining weight.  As a result, she’s climbed up to the 25th percentile in weight and is still gaining.

Rachel---mom of Scarlett (6 months)
My husband and I welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, born at 33 weeks. After a few weeks as "feeders and growers" in the NICU their ng tubes were removed and they came home. Our daughter Scarlett never took the number of bottles they wanted her to in the NICU and we were instructed to feed her what she did not finish in a bottle via a ng tube. We stopped this practice after one month of being home with her. At this time she began spitting up large volumes of her bottles and her disposition at feedings went from lethargic to irritable and combative. Everyone said she would "grow out of it" and "oh, you have a reflux baby" and the most annoying, "she is probably picking up on your stress, try to relax!" We did everything we could to make feeding her relaxing: dimming the lights, soft music, walking her around the block, swaddling her, you name it. My mother in law sent me the web link to Los Altos feeding clinic but I hoped she would grow out of it. We struggled through life with our twins at 3, 4, 5, and 6 months old with an unbearable weight of stress, concern, worry and anguish. We took Scarlett to a pediatric gi who dismissed our concerns. We consulted with other pediatric gi specialists, many of whom suggested the fundo surgery, which has a lifetime of side effects. We tried every medication for reflux available. We met with a speech therapist who did weekly weight checks and encouraged us to get a feeding tube and "try to bond with her in other ways". Scarlett was losing weight and in the 5th percentile. In the whole month of May she gained 2 ounces. Each day and night was a slow passing of minutes and hours spent fruitlessly coaxing her to eat. At 4 and 5 months some days she took in as little as 13 ounces, the highest was 24 ounces. It could take 30 minutes to feed her 1 ounce and we usually had to feed her when she was asleep because she would scream like we were killing her when we fed her when she was awake. My husband and I were juggling careers, twins and serious concerns about our daughter's health. I gave up hope that she would "grow out of it" but did not want to subject her to surgery with its side effects and likely consequences of demanding a feeding tube. The final straw came when we tried to feed her solids. She vomited literally everything and every time we fed her. We tried that for weeks and finally gave up and consulted with Ben.

At 6 months of age, Scarlett began his program. We had to leave our home, friends, family and our jobs (in Texas) to fly to CA and move into a hotel to do the program. Of course, I'm not including paying for the program! But it had reached a point in our lives where it was no longer bearable or tolerable. Within a few days Ben had eliminated Scarlett's gag reflex completely and she was eating close to 2 ounces. Encouraged by the gains we saw in the first week, we started the second week with optimism, only to have her progress slide back and plateau. Luckily, she improved somewhat the last week. Ben told me at one of her first feedings a case like Scarlett he'd like to ideally work with for 6 months. If I lived in Sunnyvale CA, that would certainly be possible, but I didn't and we could only afford three weeks of his program. It would have been easy for Ben to tell us he had done the best he could, he needed more time, etc but his number one goal, which was reflected in everything he did and said, was to ensure feeding times were a managaeable as possible for us as parents. While the whole experience of particating in the program can feel surreal and scary at times, Ben is an exceptionally caring, thoughtful, and considerate individual who takes every available moment to check in with you as parents and support you and your child through the process. Scarlett is a heathly, thriving, 9 month old who JUST landed on the growth chart. While she is still a "fussy" eater and by no means a chubby baby (she is now in the 5th percentile for growth) she does not vomit copious amounts everyday, usually only spits up a few times a week and takes in more calories each day than her brother, thanks to us making a very high calorie food concoction Ben trained us to prepare. Luckily the high powered blender we use to prepare her food also makes sublime margaritas and with Ben's support and feedback on our adventures in feeding our child and her progress, we're making it. Since coming home with her we've seen a decrease in the amount of crying normally associated with mealtimes and we look forward to a future of happy, heathly eating.

Since taking Scarlett to the feeding clinic her entire disposition has changed completely. She used to be an irritable, fussy temperamental baby. She is now a funny, joyous,silly giggly baby. Scarlett was only 6 months old when we brought her to Ben and we realize our experience isn't typical of many of his clients since our child was so young and we had a limited frame of time (3 weeks intensive to see him). However her progress, despite it's slow pace, has been significant and rewarding and I could not recommend Ben more. His patience, understanding, confidence and and compassion is a godsend to parents desperate and out of answers or (like us) getting all the wrong answers.

Emma---mom of Sheldon (10 months) and Rozanna (7 years)
Both of my two children received treatment at Los Altos Feeding Clinic. Rozanna was born full term and never had any medical problems. For a reason we may never know, she lost interest towards feeding around 3 months of age. I had to stop breastfeeding and pump, adding formula to breast milk in a bottle to increase calories. She didn’t care much for the bottle, even when she should have been very hungry. It was so strange that a child would not want to eat. Things did not get better with introduction of solids. She’d only eat crunchy foods that did not smear on her hands or in & around her mouth, such as a fresh cucumber, celery, watermelon. After a while, she got used to Pediasure from a bottle. Her weight, even though growing little by little, remained under the curve, and I did not have peace being unable to make my child eat better. Years of weekly OT sessions at Stanford and Children’s Health Council, consultations with a psychologist and psychiatrist, did not produce significant results. At 7 years of age, I still had to feed my daughter in order to get sufficient amount of calories in, and she took a very long time to chew her food.
It took only a few sessions with Ben Zimmerman, to change my daughter’s behavior around meal times. For the first time ever, she eats by herself, finishes her meals in under 20 min., and her weight is on the chart! She has more energy, independence, and self esteem. I wish we met Ben back when Rozanna was a baby. It would have saved us a lot of worries and frustrations, and helped Rozanna grow stronger and happier.

In 2006, my second child was born, and I really hoped he would be a good eater. And he was, but only at nursing. When time came to introduce solids, we had problems with not swallowing food but simply spitting it out, bite after bite. Frequent vomiting was later attributed to reflux and managed with medication, but swallowing problems continued. The weight curve was flat and got further from the curve as time went by. Because my baby was healthy otherwise, the pediatrician referred us to Los Altos Feeding Clinic. Sheldon was 10 months old when we started therapy. I was able to watch the sessions from the waiting room and was impressed by Ben’s patience and ability to find an approach that was just right for my child. In a couple of weeks, my baby was eating from a spoon, and I was soon trained to feed him myself. Within weeks, Sheldon’s weight curved upward, crossed the bottom percentile, and continues to grow at a steady speed.

After achieving stable progress with solids, we’re back at the clinic to learn to drink from a cup. (I guess I missed the “window of opportunity” to introduce a bottle early on, and so Sheldon refuses anything but breast for his liquid intake.) After just 1 week of treatment, there’s no crying or resistance to the cup, the clothes are clean and dry, and I can really see the progress in Sheldon’s acquiring a new skill. Every time he comes out of the treatment room after a session, I see a smile on his face. What a difference a full stomach makes! My kids also enjoy the time before/after sessions when Ben plays with them. He’s a pleasure to know.

I’d like to point out that, unlike most children who experience feeding difficulties, my kids were born healthy full term babies. And if not for the help we got from Ben, they might not grow up to be so healthy and happy. I highly recommend Mr. Ben Zimmerman at Los Altos Feeding Clinic to anyone struggling to feed their child.

Amanda mom of Caitlin (6-months-old)
As a member of Kaiser Permanente since 1999, I would like to provide feedback regarding the feeding therapy services referred by Kaiser Santa Clara.

In March of this year, our first chilid, Caitlin, was born with multiple birth defects.  She had two heart defects (ventricular septal defect and coarctation of the aorta) and  tracheoesophageal fistula.  By three months old, all of her defects has been surgically repaired but we were left with the chronic challenge of feeding her.  Caitlin had required an NG feeding tube since birth and at the time when her surgeries were completed, she still only took half of her required calories orally.

In June, Caitlin was referred to the one feeding therapist Kaiser contracted with at that time.  We worked with this therapist from June until August with very little progress.  Each week we would drive a half hour each way (from Santa Clara) to simply sit and discuss what I had tried at home the previous week.  The last twenty minutes I would attempt to feed my daughter while the therapist observed and gave feedback.  She mentioned that she prefers to have the parents feed during the session instead of herself.  As soon as my daughter fussed, we would stop and try a new method.  This went on week after week until I realized it was a complete waste of time.

During the time we were at UCSF for Caitlin’s heart surgeries, one of the occupational therapists had told me about Ben Zimmerman at the Los Altos Feeding Clinic.  I gave him a call after three months of using the Kaiser referred feeding therapist and he agreed to work with my six month old daughter.  At that time, I also contacted Caitlin’s pediatrician with the intent to work with Mr. Zimmerman.  She made the referral and happily, it was approved.

Caitlin started seeing Mr. Zimmerman twice a week at the beginning of September and the immediate difference I noticed from the other therapist is that he did the work of feeding my daughter and assessing her troubles.  We slowly increased our frequency of visits as he familiarized himself with her challenges and finally diagnosed and proposed treatment as an “intensive case”.  He suggested we work with him daily for a minimum of two weeks in order to break her dependency on the feeding tube.

We agreed to this and spent twenty-six straight days at the Los Altos Feeding Clinic, including weekends, in order to teach Caitlin how to eat normally after being tube fed for the first six months of her life.  We had made this committment knowing that the only other option was a G-tube placement.  Another surgery would have been a tremendous strain physically, emotionally, and financially.

After the first five days of intensive therapy, Mr. Zimmerman was able to remove the NG tube with the confidence that he would be able to keep it out.  He did the feedings for the next two weeks until it was time to train us, Caitlin’s parents, on her specific feeding protocol.  We were able to learn quickly at which time we all agreed she was able to be discharged from the intensive program.

Throughout all of Caitlin’s medical experiences this past year, Mr. Zimmerman has made one of the biggest impacts on our family.  I have never encountered a more dedicated, hard-working, medical professional who would do whatever it takes (with the parents consent) to get his job done.  Caitlin has been steadily gaining weight and developing normally for the last three months since we removed the feeding tube.  We will forever be indebted to Mr. Zimmerman for what he has done for our family and Caitlin’s quality of life.  I would highly recommend Mr. Zimmerman and the Los Altos Feeding Clinic to any family with a child six months or older who has a feeding problem.  If the parents stay the course, he will likely get the job done of breaking a child’s feeding tube dependency.

Michelle, mother of James (21 months)
James was a 25 week preemie twin who spent the first nine months of his life in the NICU.  With underdeveloped lungs, James struggled to live and his ventilator dependency was the beginning of cause and effect situations.  At two months old James underwent a tracheotomy due to subglottic stenosis, or scarring caused by being intubated for so long.  It wasn’t until James was six months old that a bottle was introduced using a Haberman nipple and eight months old before he was able to consume enough volume to stop the supplemental NG feedings.

Because the plan was to reconstruct James’ trachea around his first birthday, it was the opinion of all (Drs., OT’s, PT’s, SLT’s) to not push him to eat solids until then; if he refused we would stop.  At sixteen months, the doctors successfully reconstructed his trachea, the stint (inserted during surgery) was removed four weeks later, and after four consecutive weekly visits back to the operating room for subsequent scar revisions (removal), James was decannulated on December 11, 2007.  What was a momentous occasion was overshadowed by the fact that James left the hospital after the initial reconstruction refusing to eat anything and sporting an NG tube.  No one anticipated his initial refusal to eat, not even a bottle, would develop into classic feeding aversion and NG tube dependency.  Then the NG tube complications started.  We were told he must have a sensitive stomach, as we had to watch the life drain out of him with each feeding as he violently gagged, turned colors and eventually vomited during his bolus feeds. 

It was becoming apparent that James had forgotten the behavior of eating by mouth.  We would be “starting from scratch” and even with weekly OT and SLT visits it was going to take a long time.  The NG tube had been in for three months already and we found ourselves being referred to the GI specialist for discussion of G-tube placement.  The date had been set, and the clock was running.   By chance we discovered that there were intensive feeding programs, however the specialist informed us that most programs would probably not accept James until after the NG tube was removed.  Fortunately my husband took it upon himself to not be discouraged.  He found Ben Zimmerman and the Los Altos Feeding Clinic website on a Monday, met with Ben on Wednesday and relocated our family to a hotel two hundred miles from home to start the program the following Tuesday.  Ben passionately agreed that we needed to atleast try intensive feeding therapy BEFORE we allowed James to go through yet another surgery, and while I thought Ben was maybe too confident, my hesitation was replaced by hope.

I am thrilled to report that today was our seventeenth day in the program and we will be going home tomorrow.  Ben removed James’ NG tube on the second day and assured us it would not need to be replaced.  James is eating three meals a day each consisting of 5 ounces of pureed food and six ounces of milk.  We are amazed with the changes we are already seeing in him; he is stronger, more active and even his hair has filled in. 

We have tired of speculating in all of James’ miracles what was the “thing” that did it…What allowed him to get over pneumonia for the last time? What was it that Ben did that succeeded where all others had failed, or rather not dared to venture?  All we know is that we have a fighter who had never been comforted by eating, whose entire lifetime of experiences having to do with his face involved invasive tubes, tape and gloves.  We did not anticipate that the intensive feeding program would be easy, nor do we think that the upcoming weeks and months will go without a hitch.  We do know that our sacrifices will be worth it and that with each day we should see improvement.  Finally, we are going home without a “tube.” 

Los Altos Feeding Clinic
2235 Grant Rd. Ste 2
Los Altos, California 94024