Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center

The Child Adolescent Meal Program (ChAMP) is a seven-day, intensive program for adolescents with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) or youth who are unable to eat enough volume or variety due to low appetite, pain, nausea or sensory sensitivities.

The program is designed to give youth and their parents the skills to help expand the volume and variety of food children and adolescents are eating with the overall goal of improving weight, correcting nutritional deficiencies and increasing their social functioning.

Core components of the ChAMP program include:

Group sessions

Youth and their parent participate in a group setting to learn and practice skills to expand the volume and variety of their food intake.

Family meals

Staff members coach participants in strategies to expand their volume and variety of food and coach parents in effective strategies to support their youth in reaching their meal-eating goals.

Biofeedback

Because tense muscles and heightened physiological arousal contribute to eating challenges in youth with ARFID, youth receive individual sessions of biofeedback during the program. Biofeedback provides information about how the body can be negatively affected by prior difficult experiences with eating and help youth learn to prepare their body to make eating less difficult.

Physical activity

Physical activity can increase hunger cues, improve digestion, and support improved eating. PPRC staff instruct youth in strengthening and stretching at a level appropriate for the youth's physical condition.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapists help youth recognize their own resilience and how to use their strengths to support their work in the ChAMP program. They also support the youth by teaching strategies to increase enjoyment and positive experiences around eating.

Medical monitoring

Youth complete a variety of objective assessments on their first day to determine their level of health and any nutritional deficiencies. They also are medically monitored throughout the program to ensure they are safe to participate. ChAMP program staff make recommendations for medications, supplements and other strategies to improve nutrition and overall health status.