The clinical thinking behind Galet.
Every feature in Galet is grounded in established pediatric feeding frameworks and reviewed by our clinical team. This page documents what we draw on, what we claim, and what we don't.
How clinical review works at Galet.
All product features, marketing language, and clinical content are reviewed with our pediatric GI CMO (MD). The Food Stretching framework is guided by our OT advisor (pediatric feeding specialty). Nutritional boundaries are set by our RD advisor (pediatric nutrition, non-diet approach).
This is not a rubber stamp. Our clinical team shapes what Galet does, what it says, and where it draws the line.
Frameworks behind Food Stretching.
Just-Noticeable-Difference (JND)
The foundational principle behind Galet's five-step stretching model. JND is a sensory-science concept describing the smallest detectable change in a stimulus. In the context of pediatric feeding, it means changing one sensory variable of a food at or below the threshold the child's nervous system can tolerate without overwhelm.
Weber, E. H. (1834). De pulsu, resorptione, auditu et tactu: Annotationes anatomicae et physiologicae. Leipzig. See also Gescheider, G. A. (1997). Psychophysics: The Fundamentals (3rd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach
Developed by Dr. Kay Toomey, SOS is a feeding-therapy framework built on the principle that children often need to experience food across multiple sensory levels — looking, touching, smelling, tasting — before they are ready to eat it. Galet borrows the principle that sensory familiarity precedes acceptance. We do not replicate SOS clinically.
Toomey, K. A. & Ross, E. S. (2011). SOS Approach to Feeding. Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia), 20(3), 82–87.
Food Chaining (Fraker et al.)
Food chaining is a feeding-therapy technique that creates bridges from accepted foods to target foods through shared sensory properties (taste, texture, temperature, appearance). Galet's Food Chains feature adapts this logic into a parent-led, home-friendly planning aid. Inside therapy, food chaining is clinician-led. Inside Galet, it is parent-led with AI-assisted suggestions.
Fraker, C., Fishbein, M., Cox, S., & Walbert, L. (2007). Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems, and Expand Your Child's Diet. Da Capo Lifelong Books.
Stimulus Fading
A behaviour-analytic technique for gradually introducing novel stimuli by making incremental changes to accepted stimuli. Galet's five-step framework (brand, shape, temperature, texture, volume) follows a stimulus-fading logic, applied in a non-clinical, parent-led context.
Patel, M. R., Piazza, C. C., Martinez, C. J., Volkert, V. M., & Santana, C. M. (2002). An evaluation of two differential reinforcement procedures with escape extinction to treat food refusal. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35(3), 363–374.
Pediatric reference ranges.
When you log a meal, Galet tracks the nutrients pediatric feeding teams care about most. We compare against general pediatric guidelines — not as goals or prescriptions, but as a reference frame to help you notice patterns.
What we track and why
- Fibre. Often low in restricted diets. Linked to bowel regularity in pediatric GI literature.
- Iron. Common insufficiency in narrow diets. Tracked against age-group reference ranges.
- Calcium. Essential for bone development. Often under-represented when dairy is limited.
- Protein. Tracked for adequacy, not excess. Age-appropriate ranges.
- Hydration. Total fluid intake capped at age-appropriate guidelines. Juice flagged gently.
Sources
Reference ranges are drawn from:
- Health Canada, Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for the Canadian population.
- Institute of Medicine (IOM). Dietary Reference Intakes series. National Academies Press.
- Canadian Paediatric Society position statements on pediatric nutrition.
These are general population references. Many children live happy, healthy lives outside them. If you have concerns, your paediatrician, RD, or GI is the right person to ask.
Bristol Stool Scale.
Galet uses a pediatric-adapted version of the Bristol Stool Scale — the same visual classification feeding teams and GI clinics use worldwide. It's a descriptive tool for noticing patterns over time. It is not a diagnostic instrument.
What the scale does
Classifies stool consistency into seven types, from hard (Type 1) to liquid (Type 7). Types 3–4 are generally considered within a healthy range. Galet uses simplified, age-appropriate language and visuals.
Lewis, S. J., & Heaton, K. W. (1997). Stool form scale as a useful guide to intestinal transit time. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 32(9), 920–924.
Pediatric adaptation
Several studies have validated modified Bristol scales for pediatric populations. We use simplified categories and child-friendly visuals reviewed by our pediatric GI CMO.
Lane, M. M., Czyzewski, D. I., Chumpitazi, B. P., & Shulman, R. J. (2011). Reliability and validity of a modified Bristol Stool Form Scale for children. The Journal of Pediatrics, 159(3), 437–441.e1.
The feeding-gut connection.
Galet exists because of a pattern many clinicians recognise: in neurodivergent children with restricted safe-food repertoires, feeding behaviour and gut patterns frequently travel together.
What the literature describes
A child with a narrow safe-food list often gets less dietary fibre than age-general guidelines suggest. Lower fibre can contribute to harder stools and less regular bowel patterns. In some children, physical discomfort around eating can further narrow the safe-food list. When it forms, this loop is quiet and slow.
Galet puts both sides of the picture on the same screen so families and clinicians can see whether the pattern shows up in their data.
Selected references
- Sharp, W. G., Berry, R. C., McCracken, C., et al. (2013). Feeding problems and nutrient intake in children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(9), 2159–2173.
- Margolis, K. G., Buie, T. M., Turner, J. B., et al. (2019). Development of a brief parent-report screen for common gastrointestinal disorders in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(1), 349–362.
- McElhanon, B. O., McCracken, C., Karpen, S., & Sharp, W. G. (2014). Gastrointestinal symptoms in autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 133(5), 872–883.
Forthcoming research
A peer-reviewed piece from our CMO examining the feeding-gut relationship in neurodivergent children is in preparation. We will link it here when published.
To be notified, join our waitlist.
What Galet is not.
Not a medical device
Galet is a data-tracking and pattern-surfacing tool. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition. It sits outside Health Canada and FDA definitions of Software as a Medical Device (SaMD). Full details on our SaMD disclaimer page.
Conditions Galet does not diagnose or treat
ARFID, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, constipation, diarrhea, IBS, food allergies, failure to thrive, or any other medical or developmental condition.
Data privacy
Canadian data residency (Supabase, ca-central-1). PHIPA-aligned. Data never sold. AI prompts reviewed by CMO; user data not used to train models. Full details on our privacy page.
Questions about our clinical approach?
We welcome scrutiny. If something here doesn't sit right, we want to hear it.
Write to us