Teaching · Related Services

What MT-07 eats,
and what helps.

A student who “will not eat lunch” usually eats some things, in some ways, in some seats. Observe one meal, mark each texture, taste and presentation, note the room and what helped, and the team has a clear picture to plan from.

Start an observationWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Related Services toolkit, $99 for 96 items.

Your observations

The worked example is made up: a second grader at a loud cafeteria lunch who refuses mixed textures, sour foods and foods that touch, and eats more at the end of a table. Saved on this device only; students are recorded by code.

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What you get

Teaching · Related Services$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per mealtime observation: student code, grade, setting, observer and date; five textures, six temperatures and tastes and four presentations, each accepted, tolerated with support or refused; noise, seating that works, three safety checks and what helped. Counts accepts, tolerates and refuses per group; flags mixed-texture refusals, the signs that call for a swallowing referral, a missing diet order and a loud room.
Who it is for
School occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists, teachers and paraprofessionals who support lunch, and families sharing what happens at home.
Format
Browser documentation with a saved record per observation. Prints one observation for the team or the IEP file, every observation in a table or a blank form for the cafeteria; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Related Services toolkit ($99) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Related Services space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Observe one whole meal before changing anything.
  2. Mark each item accepts, tolerates with support or refuses.
  3. Note the noise, the seat and anything that helped.
  4. Refer any coughing or wet voice for a swallowing evaluation.
  5. Repeat in another setting and compare.

Start an observation

Small steps

Small steps toward a new foodAcceptedEats it asservedNext to the plateTolerates itnearbyTouch or smellPicks it up,smells itA tasteLicks or takesa small biteEats itChews andswallows abiteSmall steps toward a new foodAcceptedEats it as servedNext to the plateTolerates it nearbyTouch or smellPicks it up, smells itA tasteLicks or takes a small biteEats itChews and swallows a bite
Many children need many calm exposures before eating a new food. Progress is a step up, not a clean plate.

Observation, not diagnosis

This record describes what a student did at one meal. It does not assess swallowing or diagnose a feeding disorder. Coughing, a wet or gurgly voice, watery eyes or long meals are reasons to refer to the SLP or the student’s doctor.

Meals at school

Schools in the federal meal programs must make reasonable meal modifications for students whose disability restricts their diet, based on a statement from a licensed medical authority. Bring the school nutrition staff into the plan early.

Sources

  1. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Pediatric Dysphagia practice portal (asha.org).
  2. American Occupational Therapy Association. Feeding, Eating, and Swallowing fact sheet (aota.org).
  3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Accommodating Children with Disabilities in the School Meal Programs (fns.usda.gov).
  4. Goday, P. S., et al. (2019). Pediatric feeding disorder: consensus definition and conceptual framework. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 68(1), 124–129.

The worked example is made up. This is an observation record for a team, not an assessment or diagnosis; follow the student’s plan, diet orders and your professional judgment. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.