Dive into the science behind the power of breastmilk and how it applies clinically.

Guest: Dr. Richard Noel, MD, PhD

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Michelle and Richard lean into the “nerdy details” behind early nutrition and why it matters so much for the infants we serve. Their conversation walks through clinical guidance on probiotics in the NICU, unpacks the emerging science of microRNA, and connects these concepts to real-world infant growth, gut health, and feeding outcomes. Michelle helps you translate the science into what it means at the bedside, in early intervention, and in caregiver conversations. If you’ve ever wanted a clearer, evidence-based understanding of why breastmilk exposure supports GI development and how to talk about it with families, this episode delivers.

About the Guest: Dr. Richard Noel, MD, PhD, Division Chief for Pediatric GI at Baylor College of Medicine at CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital in San Antonio and volunteer Medical Director for Feeding Matters.

Show Notes:

• Healthy Children’s Lactation Project
• IBCLC
• Gold Lactation
• Feeding Matters

What does meaningful caregiver coaching look like in infant feeding therapy?

Guest: Madi Metcalf, MS, CCC-SLP

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In this episode of First Bite, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, welcomes back Madi Metcalf, MS, CCC-SLP, to explore infant feeding through a Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) lens. Together, they discuss how medical factors can impact feeding even in the youngest patients, and the importance of early, caregiver-centered support. The conversation also highlights building caregiver confidence, creating realistic feeding goals, and supporting families through postpartum challenges. This conversation is rooted in hope, trust, and helping caregivers feel seen, supported, and confident throughout the feeding journey.

About the Guest(s): Madi Metcalf, MS, CCC-SLP, is an Arkansas-based speech-language pathologist with advanced training in pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders and the owner of Function First Speech and Feeding Therapy, where she provides home, community, and clinic-based services. She is passionate about interdisciplinary care and caregiver collaboration to support safe, functional feeding.

Show Notes:

• Contact Madi: @functionfirstslp on Instagram or on LinkedIn
• Attend the 2026 PEDIATRIC FEEDING SYMPOSIUM Beyond the Bite: Supporting the Whole Family in Pediatric Feeding Disorders
• Madi's Related Courses
• Effective Parent Coaching Course
• Family Guided Routines Based Intervention
• Helping Your Child with Extreme Picky Eating Book
• Britt Pados Related Course
• Routines-based Interview Checklist
• Bridging NICU to Home Course
• Feeding Matters

Walk through sensory systems and key reflexes for infant feeding.

Guest: Michelle Emanuel, OTR/L, IBCLC, NBCR, CST

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Register for the FREE Empowering Providers PFD series

Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, welcomes industry leader Michelle Emanuel, OTR/L, IBCLC, NBCR, CST, for a thoughtful and engaging conversation on infant reflexes and their role in early feeding development. Together, they explore how key reflexes contribute to early suck–swallow coordination, and how these patterns evolve as infants grow. Their conversation also highlights the role of interoception–the body’s internal sense that helps infants recognize hunger and fullness cues. They discuss torticollis and how neck muscle imbalance can impact positioning and latch, and close with a candid look at tethered oral tissues and their potential influence on feeding outcomes.

About the Guest: Michelle Emanuel, OTR/L, IBCLC, NBCR, CST, has been a Pediatric Occupational Therapist for 30 years and specializes in working with newborns to pre-crawling infants. She is a Certified Breastfeeding Specialist and IBCLC, who is also certified in yoga and several forms of manual therapy. Michelle is passionate about infant neurodevelopment, feeding, the sensory nervous system, and social engagement.

Show Notes:

• Contact Michelle Emanuel: @tonguetiebabies and @tummytimemethod on Instagram or on LinkedIn
• Hazelbaker Lactation Institute
• American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery: Clinical Consensus Statement: Ankyloglossia in Children
• Georgia Malandraki Publications
• Tummy Time Method
• Love Money: La Leche League

This innovative tool is sure to support both your clinical heart and your practice as it grows.

Guest: Meg Simione, PhD, CCC-SLP and Helen Cohen, BA, CLC

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Register for the FREE Empowering Providers PFD series

This episode of First Bite features Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, kicking off PFD and ARFID Awareness Month with Meg Simione, PhD, CCC-SLP, and her graduate student, Helen Cohen, BA, CLC, for an in-depth look at the PFD DAISI. Meg and Helen explain how the six DAISI factors, represented by the flower's petals, guide feeding assessment and treatment. They then dive into the four Social Spheres at the flower’s core, highlighting their influence on a child’s mealtime journey. They share practical tips for using the PFD DAISI in clinical practice, helping SLPs take a holistic, dynamic approach to pediatric feeding care.

About the Guests: Meg Simione, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a clinician-scientist specializing in infant and child feeding, growth, and care delivery innovation. She serves as a research scientist in the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a speech-language pathologist, and Instructor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Helen Cohen, BA, CLC, is a graduate student at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, where she is pursuing a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology with a concentration in Medical Speech Pathology. Alongside her academic work, she serves as a research assistant at the University of Rhode Island, conducting research on Pediatric Feeding Disorder, Family Centered Care, and Implementation Science.

Show Notes:

Contact Meg and Helen on LinkedIn

Download the PFD DAISI

Feeding Innovation Lab: @feedinginnovationlab on Instagram

Dr Brown’s Bottles

Dysphagia Outreach Project

FindHelp.org

The Feeding Flock

Feeding Matters

Love Money: Support URISSHLA

Approach supervision with greater clarity, intention, and sustainability.

Guest: Alice L. Williams, BA, SLPA

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Register for the FREE 5 part PFD Series, April 30-May 28

This course meets ASHA's Supervision PD requirement.

In this episode of First Bite, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, welcomes Alice L. Williams, BA, SLPA, creator of The SLPA Network, to explore the real challenges SLPs face when stepping into supervisory roles, including limited training and the constant pull between clinical responsibilities and mentorship. Alice breaks down how supervision requirements vary widely across states and settings, while highlighting the core principles that make supervision effective no matter where you practice. The discussion centers on "empowered supervision" as a way to build clinician confidence, strengthen professional identity, and support better outcomes for those we serve.

About the Guests: Alice L. Williams, B.A., SLPA, is the creator of The SLPA Network and an experienced speech-language pathology assistant with over seven years in pediatric settings. Her work centers on professional identity, empowered supervision, and sustainable collaboration between SLPs and support personnel. Alice develops educational and leadership resources that support ethical practice, reduce burnout, and strengthen interdisciplinary teams across school-based, medical, and private-practice environments.

Show Notes:

Contact Alice: @speechwith_msalice and @the.slpa.network on Instagram

SLPA Network

Alice’s Course: Foundations of Effective Supervision

Get 10% with the code: LEAD10 (Valid through 12/31/26)

If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently by Fred Lee

Love Money: Faith Christian Center Cross The Street Fund

Explore common GI challenges in autistic individuals, and how they impact feeding, behavior, and participation at mealtimes.

Guest: Leena Sayed, MS, CCC-SLP

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Register for the FREE PFD series, April 30-May 28

In this episode of First Bite, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, is joined by Leena Sayed, MS, CF-SLP to take a closer look at the connection between autism, gastrointestinal health, and feeding. Together, they discuss how often GI concerns occur, the signs pediatric feeding therapists should be watching for, and how these factors align within the medical domain of PFD.

About the Guest: Leena Sayed, MS, CCC-SLP is a recent graduate in Speech-Language Pathology from James Madison University (JMU) in Virginia. She brings hands-on experience working with children with pediatric feeding disorders across university clinic, outpatient hospital, and private practice settings.

Show Notes:

Bowel Sounds: The Pediatric GI Podcast

Love Money Cause: Palestine Children's Relief Fund

Practical insights into bottles, reflux, GI health, and the collaborative thinking needed to support safe, successful feeding.

Guest: Britt Pados, PhD, RN, NNP-BC, IBCLC, FAHA

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Host Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, sits down with Britt Pados, PhD, RN, NNP-BC, IBCLC, FAHA, the expert behind Infant Feeding Care, to explore the complexities of feeding in both bottle- and chest-fed infants. They discuss Britt’s research on bottle flow rates and its ongoing clinical relevance, as well as the impact of gastrointestinal issues like reflux on feeding. The conversation highlights the use of the GIGER Scale to improve collaboration between SLPs and medical providers, and concludes with practical insights on conditions like FPIES and FPIAS, along with guidance for supporting lactating caregivers managing infant food allergies.

About the Guest: Britt Pados, PhD, RN, NNP-BC, IBCLC, FAHA, and Trauma-Informed Professional at Infant Feeding Care in Massachusetts, where she provides clinical care to infants who are struggling with breastfeeding and/or bottle-feeding. She is also the owner of Infant Feeding Labs, where she conducts flow rate testing of bottle nipples.

Show Notes:

Infant Feeding Labs

Infant Feeding Care

Related courses:

1. The Power of PROM for PFD
2. The Medical Domain of PFD

The Gastrointestinal and Gastroesophageal Reflux (GIGER) Scale for Infants and Toddlers by Britt Pados, Christine Repsha, and Rebecca R. Hill

Dr. Brown’s Bottles

Dyphagia Outreach Project

Bowel Sounds: The Pediatric GI Podcast

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders

FindHelp.org

Hospital-to-Home Systems Change

Support Feeding Matters

Create safe, supportive assessment experiences to guide trauma-sensitive care.

Guest: Lauren Thompson, MEd, CCC-SLP, CLC

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Register for the FREE Series: Empowering Providers Through Transforming Pediatric Feeding Journeys

In this part 2 episode, Michelle Dawson, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, BCS-S, FNAP, welcomes Lauren Thompson, MEd, CCC-SLP, CLC, to explore how trauma can shape feeding experiences for children and families and what that means for clinicians working in pediatric feeding. They focus on evidence-based approaches to trauma-sensitive PFD evaluations, with particular attention to supporting the psychosocial domain of feeding. Lauren also shares practical strategies for delivering trauma-sensitive interventions that support both the child and caregiver.

About the Guest(s): Lauren Thompson, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, CLC, is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Lactation Counselor, and the owner of Well Fed Feeding & Swallowing Therapy in New Hampshire. Since 2012, she has supported infants and children with PFD, dysphagia, lactation challenges, ARFID, and feeding-related trauma across inpatient rehabilitation, hospital-based outpatient care, Level II and III NICUs, and public schools.

Show Notes:

Contact Lauren: @laurenteetheslp on Instagram

Lauren’s Private Practice: Well Fed Feeding Therapy

Related Courses:

1. Trauma and PFD: Moving from Understanding to Healing
2. The Power of PROM for PFD

The Feeding Flock: Assessment Tools

Infant Feeding Care: Assessment Tools

Ezpz Products: Feeding Tools

Find local resources: Findhelp.org

Love Money Cause: Feeding Matters and your Local Food Banks