From Wisconsin to Sioux Falls, a mother’s journey leads to help for her son

This paid piece is sponsored by LifeScape.

When you think of eating and drinking, this is an essential part of our everyday lives — and often taken for granted. Many events, holidays and celebrations in our lives revolve around food. When you think about eating, it seems like an easy task to do. For some families, like Samia Islam’s, a mother from Wisconsin, that’s not the case.

Islam’s 5-year-old son, Zohan, has a fear of eating — or, more precisely, he “had” a fear of eating. Thanks to the help from a Facebook group, the family was recommended to Sioux Falls to get the help they needed.

When Zohan entered the Intensive Feeding Program at LifeScape, all his mother wanted was help for her son.

“Before coming here, he was drinking only milk or a few spoons of yogurt. That’s all,” Islam said. “All the solid foods and finger foods were a no for him. He was scared to try any food. As a mom, I was trying everything.”

When Zohan would see food, “he would vomit,” explained Melissa Carrier-Damon, South Dakota’s only speech-language pathologist certified in swallowing and swallowing disorders.

“He never learned how to chew, and so he had a lot of episodes where he was choking, which made him very fearsome of food.”

As part of the LifeScape Intensive Feeding Program, Carrier-Damon sees the benefits it can bring, helping families overcome these difficulties in a life-changing way.

When Zohan and his family arrived, Carrier-Damon wanted to do everything in her power to help the family, especially since they came all the way from Wisconsin to see her.

“I really worked on starting with foods that he could trust and that he could learn that oral motor skill of chewing, and then we were just able to progress with that. He exceeded my expectations,” she said.

Within three weeks, Zohan overcame his fear of eating, thanks to Carrier-Damon ‘s engaging approach and building a relationship based on trust.

“I really try hard to make this fun, especially for kids like Zohan. Eating isn’t fun. And if I can bring something to the therapy session that makes it fun, it helps make eating fun as well.”

Islam said she’s thankful an online recommendation led her hundreds of miles west.

“That was really helpful. We came here, and you can see he’s eating, he’s enjoying, and he’s trying new foods. It’s just the beginning for him,” she said.

LifeScape’s mission statement is “Empowering people to live their best life,” and by the success seen in Zohan’s story, his family is back home and living their best life. This is a testament of the collective help from Carrier-Damon and her team at LifeScape.

To learn more about the Intensive Feeding Program or additional services offered by LifeScape, visit here.