Children’s Specialized Hospital – Pediatric Feeding Disorders and Severe Behavior Program

My 7 year old son attended this program and it was life changing. He ate maybe three safe foods and wouldn’t even try anything else. It was greatly impacting his life and ours physically and mentally. Between the process for insurance and the wonderful staff I cannot express how amazing this program is. It changed my child completely. He is mentally positive around the idea of food and eats and drinks over 22 target foods with no issue. The staffs support made this so much easier on all of us. It was worth every tear and every drive to and from their facility. My son misses his therapists everyday and they continue to support us through outpatient. We are so blessed by this program and highly recommend!!!!

The feeding team has been absolutely amazing in supporting my son with his feeding disorder and has truly been a lifesaver for our family! Not all superheroes wear capes—most wear scrubs, and some are angels in disguise. Shout out to Team Orange for your dedication and compassion. A heartfelt thank you to Emma, Casey, Nikki, Ileana, Rob, Brian, and Mayra for everything you do! Umar and I will miss you all!

Worst Place ever

THE BEST OF THE BEST!!! My son is eating so many more foods that are nutritious

What can I say , they really know what their doing. Treated my daughter great and got her to eat . I gained so much trust with the team that worked with my daughter , THANK YOU GUYS WITH ALL OF MY HEART

The Severe Behavior Program at Children’s Specialized Hospital–Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services (CSH–RUCARES) in Somerset, is a distinguished and exceptional program. When we first walked through the doors of RUCARES, we couldn’t have imagined the transformative journey that awaited us. Our child made tremendous progress at RUCARES, with significant improvements in behavior. The programming has been highly effective, and our child is thriving. Caregiver training, home visits and community visits have been a part of the RUCARES program which has helped with generalization of skills and responses and has tremendously benefitted our family. They also have a family support coordinator to provide guidance to caregivers on various topics related to their child. The smiling faces and palpable energy within the program are a testament to the remarkable work being done by each member of the team. Every clinician, therapist, and staff member at RUCARES brings a unique blend of knowledge, expertise and passion to the work they do. We greatly appreciate and admire their relentless efforts and unwavering support. The RUCARES team doesn't just provide services but offers families hope, understanding, and the belief that meaningful progress is possible even in the most challenging circumstances. The wholeheartedness and perseverance shown by them are an inspiration. Each member of our child’s team went above and beyond to meet his needs. We were amazed by their attention to detail, swift responsiveness, and ability to make quick programming adjustments as needed to ensure the best outcomes for our child. Their collaboration with us has been extraordinary. The excellence in care, compassion, dedication and thoughtfulness shown by the team truly touched our hearts. We will forever be deeply grateful for the profound impact the RUCARES Severe Behavior Program has had on our child and our family.

I highly recommend this program! My 9-year-old autistic son has struggled with feeding challenges since he was 2 years old. He had previously been in two different feeding programs, but neither was successful. For years, his diet consisted of only milk (not even water) and a handful of processed foods like cookies, chips, and pudding—maybe 7 to 10 foods in total. None of them included fruits, vegetables, or proteins. I was initially hesitant to pull him out of school for an intensive program, worried that the change would trigger overwhelming anxiety. To my surprise, he loved going every single day. I truly believe that was because of the compassionate, patient, and dedicated staff. Every person on the team not only cared for him but was determined to help him succeed. He started in October and completed the program in January. Throughout the process, they trained our family and his school, ensuring we had the tools and support we needed. Today, he eats everything we give him—spinach, broccoli, pears, apples, cauliflower, cheese, yogurt, chicken, meatballs, pasta—he hasn’t turned down a single thing! Our family will never be able to fully express our gratitude to the entire staff. You didn’t just change our son’s life—you saved him. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Pic 1- waiting in car and excited to go in ! Pic 2 - graduation from feeding program

Amazing talk . We discussed about my son strengths and interests, not just his disability. I learned and received a lot of information about ASD. For example I never knew it was a support group for fathers which is amazing. So parents who have an amazing disability child please listen. They have support groups and programs for the kids to interact. And for parents!!