Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia

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I am a little late in writing a review, but I wanted to make sure I gave a gleaming recommendation to CPD. I brought my son, who had issues with feeding/gaining weight, and we had a very positive experience! Joan and Caitlin were the therapists we worked with, and I found them to be lovely! Both were knowledgeable and helpful in dealing with the issues we had. My son gained weight in the time we were there and learned chewing skills that were necessary for his continued growth. I also had a wonderful experience with Shirley, the receptionist! She was always kind and very accommodating to our busy schedule! Thank you to CPD for your care and concern and exceptional effort!

We have been seeing Randi at CPD for several months now for ST and feeding therapy. My son sees lots of therapists, but has connected with Randi in a way that he hasn't with anyone else. She is so patient with him and has taught him so many things. We have had one meeting with Joan, and she listened to all of our concerns and offered some thoughts and ideas and is helping us to see a new doctor for another opinion. We could not be more please with the care and support we have gotten from CPD.

CPDC has helped my family tremendously with our son. Our son has battled acid reflux since he was 2 months old and I had gone round and round with his pediatrcian on what to do. Finally, after being referred to a different therapist (whom I wasn't too impressed with), we were refered to Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia Clinic. Though I was aprehensive at first, afterall, no one knows my son better than me; we gave them a shot. I am so glad we did. Joan and her team have been so helpful with our Liam's progress.



We had no idea why Liam wouldn't eat certain foods and why he screamed and cried during meals, but Joan saw within 5 min at his evaluation that he wasn't chewing properly. It has been 3.5 months now with Joan and her team and Liam has come so far. Though he's not eating proper foods for a 2 year old yet, he's made many strides and I feel as though he'll be where he needs to be soon.



We also are doing speech therapy as Liam has had delays in both this and feeding. He's only been in speech for a few weeks and already he's signing and understanding more and more each day.



As a parent, going into therapy services, you need to have an open mind. You need to understand these therapists are professionals and yes, only you know what's best for your child, but these therapists can at least guide you in the right direction. I have seen a few posts with negative experiences and all I can say to those who have had them..... communication is the key. You are the parent so you can always openly talk with your child's therapist and let them know your fears. But, understand they know what the final result should be for your child and they are here to help. Joan and Liam's other therapist, Morgan, have done just that for us. I take their advice to heart and tweek it or add to it to help Liam at home, but I always get the same result they are looking for. I will continue to thank them every session as I know we could not have gotten Liam this far without their help and support!

My son refused bottles so someone suggested we go there for help. We worked with Joan and went to several therapy sessions. I completely agree with the other review - they use scare tactics to keep you going there. They told us my son seems like he has a serious GI issue and I was hurting him by not taking him to a GI specialist and he was going to start developing social problems with eating. I went with my gut and stopped going to the sessions. 2 months later he has not been diagnosed with any medical problem, spitting up has stopped, and he has absolutely no problem eating solids. They may be a good fit for some families but the way they try to scare you into thinking there is something wrong with your child and want you to keep paying for sessions that are not helping is not right or ethical. I would never recommend this place to anyone. I do not have one positive thing to say about this place.

Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia came highly recommended to me by many people. My son has had issues transitioning to solid foods.



We did feeding therapy once a week for nearly 4 months, starting when he was around 8 months old with zero progress. We followed their rules strictly and did all of the exercises at home, leading to frustration and misery at mealtimes. Still, no progress. We were strongly discouraged from trying finger foods or solids because it would interfere with the "program". It seems their "program" is there to ensure that they get the most from your health insurance by inhibiting progress.



I kept believing that they knew what they were doing and, naively, kept taking my son there.



Early on, we met with two lovely young ladies, Stephanie and Morgan, who seemed genuinely interested in helping. About two months in, we started seeing Joan and Joan brought a second therapist to our sessions. The sessions with Joan were hellish. She and her crony were judgmental and used a lot of scare tactics when I suggested that we start meeting once every other week instead of every week. I felt like it was becoming a waste of time, gas money and copays because every appointment was the same, and we weren't making any progress. They would give each other knowing glances like I was in under-informed idiot and would talk about the fact that if we didn't come once a week, my son would be doomed to have speech problems and problems with his teeth.



My son still nurses at night at 13 months. I'm an attachment parent and was told on multiple occasions that I needed to Ferberize my son and wean him. I thought that was interesting since Joan is well known for helping breastfeeding mothers. Both ladies talked about Ferberizing their children and that their children turned out okay. I'm not okay with locking my child in his room in his crib and letting him cry himself to sleep. That doesn't work for me. I told them each time it was suggested that Ferberizing wasn't something I was comfortable with and wasn't willing to do. Even after clearly articulating my feelings on Ferberizing, they would still talk about it. They're completely inflexible and if you question anything they are doing, they treat you like an idiot and talk down to you.



They made me feel like a terrible mother and that I was dooming him to a life of terrible teeth and speech problems. I left the last two visits and cried in my car before being able to compose myself enough to drive away.



My son is in on-site daycare where I work. There are physical, occupational and speech therapists who come to the daycare to offer services. On many occasions I was encouraged by Joan to talk to my daycare about helping to get Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia therapists in the door. I never did it because I wasn't 100% convinced that they could help anyone with anything except early breastfeeding issues. I'm glad now that I never recommended them.



If you're looking for people to gang up on you, make you feel like an idiot for asking questions, questioning your parenting style and judging you, Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia is the place for you. If you want to make zero progress and have a therapist drag things out in an effort to make more money off of you, Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia fits the bill.



If you're looking for a caring environment to help your child, seek help elsewhere. I have, and within one visit my son has made improvements. Carolina Pediatric Dysphagia is not the only game in town when it comes to feeding therapy.