FAQs

To determine which of the Feeding Flock Tools you should use, please reference the tool algorithm.

The PediEAT has been validated with parents of children from 6 months of age to age 7  years. In this scenario, we cannot provide any evidence of the validity of the PediEAT at a younger age than 6 months. The NeoEAT should be completed by the parent even if their child is eating some solids. 

The NeoEAT has been validated with parents of children from birth through 6 months of age. In this scenario, conceptually the NeoEAT is a better fit; however, currently there is no evidence that the NeoEAT would be valid at this age. 

If a parent never provides a texture because they have decided the child would not manage  it or they have been advised to avoid it, we advise that the parent score the worst option (e.g., “My child gags with textured food like coarse oatmeal” – score Always). This allows tracking of improvement when there is progress and response to treatment. 

The PediEAT and the ChOMPS have been validated with parents of children aged 6 months to 7 years. While we are aware that both of these tools are currently being used with children over the age of 7 years, we have not validated the PediEAT and the ChOMPS  beyond the age of 7 years so we cannot provide any evidence of their validity past the age  of 7.  

The Feeding Flock Tools’ Scoring Guidelines have been improved and now provide standardized T scores and percentile scores for every possible score for every age group and  for each subscale. We removed the mention of level of concern and opted instead to recommend reporting the T score or the percentile score, because these are standardized and more precise than using a category of concern.

The FaMM Feed and the Feeding Impact Scales are not limited to certain methods of  feeding and/or age of the child. They are intended to use with families of children between birth to 18 years old and/or children who are not currently taking solid foods or any liquid by mouth. However, currently scoring tables that can be used to convert raw scores to standardized scores are available for children from birth to age 7 years. 

You have our permission to use any of the Feeding Flock tools. If you change a tool in any way you will need to understand that the strong psychometrics of all of the tools, which establishes reliability and validity of the tools, is lost if changes are made. If you do change one of the tools you will need to change the name of the tool to not confuse others or suggest it is the same tool. Please see the Terms and Conditions for further detail. 

Thank you for your interest. Please see the tool translation agreement. We have laid out a valid process of tool translation to follow and are happy to work with you to verify the translation. We look forward to sharing your translation on the website for others to also use. 

Thank you for your kind words. We have always aimed to provide free tools to clinicians and  families and to make them simple enough to not require training – for example, all are at < 6th grade reading level. So, no training is necessary, but we are all here to support you.

We have one exception – the Early Feeding Skills (EFS) assessment tool. This is the only tool that is not parent-report; it is designed for a clinician to complete after an oral feeding assessment. As such, the EFS has clinical value as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool. In order to administer the EFS in a way that yields useful information, the EFS requires knowledge in infant feeding and swallowing and a grasp of physiologic behavior. To strengthen your knowledge of the underpinnings of the EFS, consider enrolling in one of Catherine Shaker’s Swallowing and Feeding Seminars at https://shaker4swallowingandfeeding.com. As co-author of the EFS, Catherine Shaker is a knowledgeable resource for the tool.