This course provides speech-language pathologists and other feeding therapists with a functional approach to infant bottle-feeding assessment and intervention, emphasizing clinical reasoning beyond nipple flow rate and bottle selection. Participants will examine how oral-motor skills, suck–swallow–breathe coordination, physiologic stability, sensory processing, and caregiver–infant interaction influence feeding efficiency, safety, and regulation.

Through case examples, participants will strengthen their ability to develop appropriate treatment plans, provide caregiver education, and determine when interdisciplinary referral is needed. This course is intended for therapists seeking to refine infant feeding assessment skills and implement function-based interventions for infant bottle-feeding challenges.

The participant will be able to:

1.  Differentiate between oral-motor, coordination, physiologic, and sensory factors that contribute to bottle-feeding inefficiency or instability in infants.
2. Develop a function-based intervention plan for an infant with bottle-feeding challenges that includes appropriate pacing, positioning, caregiver coaching, and referral recommendations when indicated.
3. Apply clinical reasoning to determine when modifications to nipple flow rate are appropriate versus when alternative intervention strategies should be prioritized.

• 5 min- Welcome, overview
• 10 min- Framing the Clinical Lens: Moving Beyond Flow Rate
• 15 min- Physiology of Infant Bottle Feeding
• 15 min- Functional Assessment of Bottle Feeding
• 15 min- Intervention and case studies
• 15 min- Treatment Planning
• 10 min: Caregiver Education
• 5 min- Summary, Key Take Aways

Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes