An Occupational Therapy Protocol for Assessing Infants and Toddlers Who Fail to Thrive

Children who “fail to thrive” are frequently referred to occupational therapists. Yet there is no organized protocol that therapists could use to assess these children. This paper reviews criteria that distinguish organic from nonorganic “failure to thrive” and describes the occupational therapist’s contribution to the evaluation process. An occupational therapy protocol is presented to facilitate a thorough assessment, emphasizing feeding issues and caretaker-child interaction.