The month of May was recognized in Nebraska as Pediatric Feeding Disorder Awareness Month, thanks in part to a group from the Munroe-Meyer Institute.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a proclamation in early May to spread awareness of the disorder in the company of a group from MMI.
The proclamation shows that support exists for families with children experiencing pediatric feeding disorder, said Jenn Kozisek, senior board-certified behavior analyst at MMI.
Although one in 37 children are impacted by pediatric feeding disorder, the condition is still relatively unknown, Kozisek said. That can make finding services and getting insurance coverage tricky.
“A lot of parents feel like they failed in some way when there are struggles,” Kozisek said. “It’s not anything they did. It’s not their fault. It’s something that affects kids, and professionals can help get them back on the right path.”
Feeding Matters, a national organization, tried to get a proclamation declared in every state this year. Kozisek said she and others at MMI decided to take the proclamation on for the state of Nebraska.
During the signing, Kozisek said, the group was able to share information about the effort and answer questions from Gov. Pillen.
“Support does exist for families when their child’s picky eating becomes outside the realm of just picky eating,” Kozisek said. “There are people out there to support them. They don’t have to take this on themselves.”