Return Overall Goal: The Valerie Foundation has been established to provide funding sources and support to children with suspected and/or diagnosed feeding challenges and their families. History: Frequently, professionals and the lay community underestimate the complexities involved in feeding, and the stresses it creates for the child and the family of a child with feeding challenges. In the majority of cases, a feeding difficulty is only the surface problem; in reality, the child may also be having issues with motor skills, oral movement, respiratory problems, allergies, sensory defensiveness and/or low tone. It is the underlying issues that most often what are truly negatively impacting the feeding skills. In addition, left untreated, the children and families develop behaviors and interaction patterns, overlaid on top of the physical issues, which also interfere with feeding progress. If a referral for an assessment can be obtained from a professional, families then often encounter other obstacles from their insurance companies. Some companies want to classify (and not pay for) feeding disorders with adolescent eating disorders. These two problems are dramatically different in origin, maintenance and treatment. Combining these problems together is not appropriate, as the feeding problems need to be viewed as a physical difficulty and not an emotional one. Other insurance companies (and physicians) see a feeding problem as a developmental issue which a child will outgrow and/or that needs to be funded by the school system (which normally addresses perceived "educational" problems). Those insurance companies who do provide therapies such as occupational therapy or speech pathology, frequently have a very limited number of sessions available and/or a set of restrictions on diagnoses or causes of the "injury", thereby precluding adequate coverage for the feeding problems. Some insurance companies only wish to pay for treatment limited to one therapist and addressing only one area of the feeding problem. In addition, the insurance-contracted provider is most often not a true pediatric feeding specialist. A multi-disciplinary feeding therapy team/program provides families with the tools and support they need in order to establish normal feeding routines, address all the issues contributing to the feeding problem, and thereby promoting good nutrition, weight gain and overall growth in the child. Target Source of Candidates: Many children with feeding difficulties have had previously diagnosed GI problems, often corrected by surgeries (G-tubes, nissen fundoplication, etc.). This pool of children is at a high risk for not developing good feeding habits and are unable to work through the various challenges presented to them by their previous medical history. Other children with feeding problems may have challenges with motor tone, sensory processing, oral-motor dysfunction, and/or allergies as well. Feeding therapy is expensive, especially when the child is relegated to individual therapy. Another approach is to use feeding groups, consisting of children who are experiencing similar challenges. Although the groups are somewhat less expensive than the private therapy sessions, they are similar in cost to other therapies. Insurance companies are often unwilling to negotiate this type of therapy as a treatment for a child, even when the child is at risk physically, cognitively and/or emotionally, due to failure to thrive or other reasons for lack of growth. Our goal is to assist those who truly need feeding therapy by referring them to a good therapist and providing an alternative funding source in the event insurance will not pay or if the family does not have insurance.