Bre is the Community Engagement Coordinator for Get Permission Institute team. An OTR/L herself, she completed a Feeding Fellowship with Marsha Dunn Klein, and sees clients as a pediatric feeding therapist at an outpatient clinic in Arizona.
If you work in pediatric feeding therapy, you know the feeling: a child makes strides in the clinic, but mealtimes at home remain a struggle. True, lasting progress doesn’t come from “fixing” a child in a weekly session, it happens when we partner deeply with families to transform the entire mealtime experience.
Shifting from Compliance to Connection
For years, traditional approaches leaned heavily on compliance by using bribes, rewards, or heavy pressure to get a child to take “just one” bite. But as we are listening to more lived experiences and better understanding how to provide neurodiversity-affirming care we KNOW there is a better way.
When we force or coerce, we override a child’s natural instincts and create stress.
One of the most important topics discussed in TheGet Permission Approach to Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes Essentials Course is that by partnering with parents, we can help them transition their homes into a No Pressure Zone. According to the Mealtime Peace Pie framework, a topic heavily discussed in the course, a supportive mealtime is built together through small, connected pieces:
Preparation: Caregivers and children come to the table emotionally regulated and ready, supported by comforting routines.
Togetherness & Connection: Meals become about laughter and real conversation, not observing or judging a child’s plate.
Clear Expectations: Predictable routines build trust. A core rule is always offering at least one safe, preferred food so the child can fill up comfortably.
Meaningful Opportunity: Parents learn to reframe what a “try” looks like.
When parents understand these principles, they stop feeling like the “food police” and start feeling like teammates and partners in the mealtime experience.
Wondering how to help families implement these strategies?
If you’re an OT, SLP, or pediatric professional eager to bring heart-centered, family-focused feeding strategies into your practice, we would love to welcome you.
We are hosting The Get Permission Approach to Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes, a LIVE, in-person course on September 25-26, 2026, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Led by Marsha Dunn Klein herself, Karen Dilfer, and Bre Robison, this interactive weekend will give you the practical tools and brain science needed to support families through a compassionate lens.
Why you’ll love it:
Neurodiversity-Affirming: Move away from compliance and embrace true emotional safety.
Family-Centered Carryover: Learn how to help parents reduce mealtime anxiety for lasting success at home.
Clinic Discounts: Planning to learn alongside your team? We offer special group rates to make it easy for your whole clinic to attend. Reach out to me directly at bre@getpermissioninstitute.com to secure a group rate!
Let’s bring peace back to mealtimes, together. We’ll see you in Maryland
