I OFFER FEEDING THERAPY

• Feeding therapy consists of evaluating oral motor skills plus assessing areas related to feeding difficulties such as “picky eating” behaviors including food jags, limited diets or textures, oral aversion, nutritional deficiencies, and poor weight gain.

• There are therapists who specialize in infant feeding to address difficulty during feeding transitions:

- Moving from breastfeeding to using a bottle or cup 

- Moving from bottle to cup or straw use

- Starting purees and solid foods

• Feeding Therapy aims to help reduce the anxiety related to mealtime for both our patients and their families by helping mealtime become a fun, more pleasant experience for everyone.

• Parent and caregiver education is always a part of this feeding journey. This is why we wanted to make more resources to help parents and their families.

• A good treatment program incorporates a sensory and oral motor based approach and interaction with food that is non-stressful where food is offered in a non-forced manner. This can be presented as a therapeutic snack or food play activities. 

• A good feeding therapist is monitoring the child's engagement and nervous system arousal during feeding activities and reacting accordingly. This can help children make gains over time.

• Picky eating typically means that a child refusing to eat certain foods or only wanting to eat a limited variety of foods. This can be extremely frustrating and worrisome for parents who want to ensure their child gets the nutrition they need.

• However, there is a difference between when being “picky” is a normal behavior that a child will outgrow, and when “picky eating” is more problematic.  We can help you know when picky eating is a problem and what you can do.

• We are creating resources to help Picky Eaters. If you would like our FREE PICKY EATING GUIDE, you can get that HERE.

• If you would like to be on a waitlist for a training we are doing on PICKY EATING, you can find that HERE.