Dr. Ruth Ford - STAYnEAT, The Helping Plate

Testimonial 

Thanks for sharing the STAYnEAT Plate with me at the New York State Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference on November 8-10, 2019. I am very impressed with your product as an occupational therapist with extensive rehabilitation, long term care, and outpatient experience. I currently teach doctor of occupational therapy students and have already shared with other faculty and students the uses for the STAYnEAT Plate. Your product is designed to meet a wide range of home and clinical uses to promote independent eating.

Self-feeding is one of the first learned skills for a small child and the last skill lost for a person with a disease or injury. Nutrition intake occurs best when the person can self-feed to meet their pacing and food selection preferences. Independence for eating and minimizing mess empowers the person eating but also reduces caregiver burden. The minimization of spilling food and reducing the person’s effort are significant with this product. Individuals who feed themselves will have greater nutritional intake than others who require a caregiver to feed the person with a disability. Eating independently is important to persons of all ages.

Product appearance- suitable for all age groups without coming across as institutional or labeling as a disability – aesthetically acceptable to children and adult populations.

Children and Adults with food aversion or food sensitivities – Picky eaters

· Fun color selection to stimulate eating (Color red is used extensively in restaurants to encourage eating)

· Children with food aversions tend to only eat white or beige food items such as crackers, cereal, chips, fruits (might start with a white dish and change to colored plate as child expands food choices – red apple, vegetables, etc.)

· Starting with the small plate for beginning eaters to larger plate size reduces the Picky Eater’s stress for eating 

· 2 plates sides can sort the foods and grade up to more foods on sloped side without divider

· Control of fluids running across plate into other foods

Diagnoses with tremors – Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s chorea, muscular dystrophy – the scoop plate enables getting food on utensil without spillage

Persons with low vision and blindness

· Plate rim facilitates locating dish – quick orientation to edge and side of plate without risk of putting hand in food

· Secured suction to surface for low vision – child learning self-feeding; acquired blindness such as diabetic or glaucoma; injury – reduces risk of pushing plate away

· Divided side can be placed at the 10:00-12:00-2:00 position to align with finding food on plate (this is common teaching for low vision using consistent food placement for independent eating)

· Contrasting plate colors for locating food on plate

Diseases with paralysis – spinal cord injuries, head injuries and traumas, strokes or cerebral vascular accidents (CVA)

Amputations– hand and arm amputations that require use of a prosthesis. Need to learn to master skill of terminal device or prosthetic upper extremity.

For more information: Dr. Ruth Ford, EdD, MSBS, OTR, FAOTA, CLIPP ford_ruth@yahoo.com