Growing Independent Eaters co-founder, Becky Keifer has been a Speech-Language Pathologist specializing in feeding for 17 years. Since graduating from Washington State University with a Bachelor's in Speech and Hearing Sciences and a Master’s degree in Communication Disorders, she has worked with hundreds of clients, specializing in Pediatric Feeding Disorders in Spokane, Washington where she lives.
Becky was initially introduced to tube feeding through professional experience, but in 2006 she learned firsthand what it was like to have a child who needed tube feeding after becoming a parent of one herself.
Another of Becky’s children, Benjamin, who is now 13, has experienced a complex array of medical issues, including the need for a feeding tube. As a clinician, Becky had already been working with children every day who experienced similar complexities, but she found it difficult to find a community where she could get support as a parent dealing with the struggles of parenting medically complex children.
Familiar with the home life of tube feedings and knowledgeable about the professional healthcare side, she began looking for these supportive communities online. She noticed right away that there was quite a difference in the way similar patients were being handled throughout these groups and parents who were being provided varying levels of advice and instruction by their child’s local healthcare providers. Many of these parents were stressed and confused, not finding adequate answers. There appeared to be no “gold standard” of care for the management of tube feeding, let alone weaning from a tube. Many of these parents could not get answers from their medical providers regarding HOW to transition to oral feeds, and those who could often found themselves as an inpatient at a local hospital to do so.
Together with Sarah Keifer, Becky’s business-savvy sister, and Olga Owens, a weaning expert and fellow tubie parent, Growing Independent Eaters was founded in 2016. The Goal of starting GIE was to establish a consistent methodology around tube feeding and tube weaning, as well as to provide parents compassionate and skilled support in their journey.
GIE prides itself on being the support system that parents need when they’re dealing with the stress of weaning their child from a feeding tube. For GIE, Becky works to empower parents to do what’s best for their children, whether that means utilizing tube feeding when needed or working toward oral eating when their child is ready.
Today, as a parent to now five adopted children, Becky lives the tube feeding life every single day. Becky’s clinical and personal experience is an incredible asset to our team and the clients we serve.