Meet Your Feeding Team

Joanna Rasmussen MS, CCC-SLP                                                               

Speech Pathologist/Feeding and Swallowing Specialist

I am a speech-language pathologist with 24 years of clinical experience who has worked diligently and independently to build specialized knowledge in the areas of feeding and swallowing for pediatrics (ages starting at birth).  I have provided speech therapy services for various populations across my career and have found direct pediatric clinical care focused on dysphagia (swallowing and eating difficulties) and sensory feeding disorders to be my specialty and my niche.  I attended the speech pathology program at Idaho State University, graduating with my Bachelor of Sciences degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology in 1996 and my Master of Sciences degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 1998.  My career has a broad array of experience in different settings, including school-based (Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind), early intervention (primarily home-based services), private practice, and hospital (inpatient, outpatient, neonatal intensive care unit).  I am trained in the SOS Approach to feeding and have studied pediatric dysphagia as well as neonatal feeding.  I have also worked with adults in acute care, in-patient rehab, home health, and in skilled nursing facilities.  This rich history of experience has allowed me to develop the skills and knowledge needed to offer help and hope to the families I've served.  I consider parents, guardians, and family members to be part of my team in facilitating growth and development in the children we serve.   As we trust each other, we will succeed!   

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In addition to providing specialized feeding and swallowing services, I also love to provide traditional speech therapy for the following: phonological or speech production disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, and early childhood speech and language delays. I've recently delved more into orofacial myofunctional assessment and therapy for children and tethered oral tissues in infants and children. I pride myself in my ability to work with children on their level to facilitate increased functional orofacial and lingual posture and movement for feeding, swallowing, breathing, and intelligible speech.

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When I’m not helping children eat or talk, I love being active.  I enjoy working out as well as teaching group fitness and yoga classes.   I love to run, hike, bike, dance, travel, shop, and go on long walks.  My heart mostly resides with my 3 sons, my boyfriend of 5+yrs, and my standard poodle.  I live in Vancouver where I’m excited to provide such a critical service that will save families the drive into Portland. 

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SERVICES I OFFER:  EVALUATIONS

• Chairside feeding and swallowing evaluations of babies and children that involve the following:

  • Oral motor examination for oral and facial muscular strength, resting posture, coordination, and range of motion for feeding and swallowing

  • Clinical swallowing evaluation

  • Assessment of sensory processing related to oral feeding

  • Feeding tube weaning readiness

  • Collaborative assessment with registered dietitian

• Comprehensive speech and language evaluation

  • Assessment of current speech production skills through standardized testing and informal observation

  • Assessment of current language skills through informal and/or standardized testing

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SERVICES I OFFER:  TREATMENT

• Treatment sessions for dysphagia (swallowing difficulties) with diet texture recommendations for safe swallowing

• Treatment sessions for oral motor skill development to facilitate increased ability to eat solid foods and drink liquids

• Treatment sessions for sensory feeding disorders for increased ability to tolerate and eat various textures of foods, increased comfort in the ability to try new foods without aversive reactions (e.g., gagging, vomiting, refusing), decreased anxiety toward foods and eating

• Treatment sessions for feeding tube weaning working directly with dietician

• Treatment sessions for speech sound production and speech intelligibility to facilitate increased communication skills

• Treatment sessions for apraxia of speech, early childhood language delays, orofacial myofunctional disorders such as tongue tie, tongue thrust

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If your baby or child has difficulty eating, swallowing, or talking, I can help!  Sessions are offered in person or online. 

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Leila Thorne, RD, CD, IBCLC

Registered Dietitian / Lactation Consultant

I have been a practicing dietitian for more than 12 years and quickly dove into practicing in the pediatric realm. I have over 10 years experience specifically working with pediatric patients, in both the acute care and outpatient settings, ranging from neonatal intensive care to young adults. I am also a credentialed International Board Certified Lactation Consultant as it coincides with my belief that optimal nutrition is critical right from the start. As both a parent and a nutrition expert, I believe I have the responsibility to provide evidenced-based nutrition to support overall wellness and optimal living. 

My nutrition interest started in college when taking several nutrition classes to fulfill my requirements for my BS in Exercise Science. My junior year, I realized my calling had changed and worked hard to take remaining nutrition courses to complete my Dietetic major. After spending a couple years in the corporate workforce, I went back to school to complete my dietetic internship program thru WSU. 

Outside of work, my interests include running, experimenting with new recipes and exploring our great outdoors with my husband and our 3 young children.  

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SERVICES I OFFER

• Nutrition counseling and education: I believe the home, specifically in the kitchen, is where one starts the journey of developing healthy lifestyles. Therefore, I take a collaborative approach with families, to partner together to develop an approach that supports not only nutritional needs but also each individual child whether the food is taken by mouth, or thru a medical feeding tube.

• Medical Nutrition Therapy: Creating tailored nutrition plans based on medical needs, including tube feeding management and tube feeding weans. 

• Assessing growth and weight trends: Most babies start out on the same playing field as their cohorts when it comes to birth weight. Aside from genetics, nutrition plays a significant role in how we continue to grow, as feeding challenges may cause growth to falter. 

• Collaboration with speech pathologists, occupational therapists, pediatricians, and pediatric gastroenterologists.