Feeding Therapy
We support your family wherever your child is at in their feeding journey, whether they’re transitioning to solids, having difficulty chewing and swallowing, or have a limited variety of foods they eat (i.e. “picky eaters”). We make it a priority to build a trusting relationship with your child and incorporate play in order for them to feel at ease in feeding therapy which drives success. Our feeding therapy is responsive, meaning we meet your child where they’re at with their skills, and respond to their cues, adjusting therapy as we go to tailor it to your child’s needs. We also prioritize family involvement in order for you to learn how to best support your child at mealtimes.
What We Treat
Difficulty transitioning to solid foods (purees, table foods, baby led, combo feeding)
Oral motor skills for feeding
Biting and chewing foods
Limited repertoire of accepted foods (Picky eating)
Challenges with specific food textures
Cup and straw drinking
Dysphagia
Poor weight gain
G-tube dependence
Ages 8 months to 7 years old
Feeding therapy will help your child:
Increase chewing skills
Increase textures your child is able to safely eat
Increase tolerance of non-preferred foods
Increase willingness to taste new foods
Increase accepted foods
Reduce or eliminate gagging, coughing, and vomiting related to oral skills
Enjoy mealtimes
What does feeding therapy look like?
Infants Transitioning to Solids
For infants transitioning to solid foods, therapy sessions will involve working on advancing their oral motor skills with age-appropriate textures, as well as the therapist teaching the family therapeutic techniques and exercises in order to achieve this goal.
Picky Eaters
For children with a limited repertoire of accepted foods, or “picky eaters,” therapy sessions will involve systematically desensitizing your child to a variety of different foods through play in order to work towards tasting and eating new foods, as well as working to address the root cause of the feeding disorder. Therapy will also focus on family education and involvement in order to address how to support your child outside of the therapy environment.
We aim to make therapy fun and engaging, while building your child’s skills, in order to reduce mealtime stress and increase their positive associations with food and ability to increase the variety of foods they eat.
Family involvement is integral for progress with feeding skills.
Feeding Evaluations
Getting started with feeding therapy begins with completing an evaluation in order to get a comprehensive look at your child’s current feeding skills, and determine what your child is having difficulty with. We look at the whole child, including oral motor skills, medical history, sensory system, environment, and behavior in order to formulate a treatment plan.
When to get a feeding evaluation:
8+ months old and is having difficulty transitioning from smooth puree to soft solids
Difficulty chewing food
Gags, vomits, spits food out, and/or coughs often during meals
Eats a very limited diet (less than 30 different foods)
Eats no or very limited (less than 5) foods in certain food groups (e.g. vegetables, fruits, proteins)
Refuses to try new foods
Will only eat specific brands of foods
Mealtimes are stressful for you and your child
Has difficulty tolerating non-preferred foods on their plate
Throws tantrums when asked to try new foods or new food is put on their plate
You have to prepare separate meals for your child (your child does not eat the same foods as the rest of the family)
What to expect from a feeding evaluation:
In order to learn about your child's current feeding skills, we will begin with an evaluation. This process typically includes the following:
A review of intake paperwork
Parent or caregiver interview
Oral examination
Observation of your child eating a variety of age-appropriate textures and/or observation of your child with preferred and non-preferred foods
Drinking skills from open cup and straw
Inventory of foods your child eats
You will be able to choose if you would like to receive either a full evaluation report including detailed information on results of the assessment and treatment plan with therapy goals, or a treatment plan with goals only (see Fees). You will also receive professional recommendations for a home program, recommended referrals when needed (e.g. ENT, OT, allergist, GI, neuropsychologist), and be provided with additional resources that may be useful for your family.