Feeding Therapy
Has your doctor told you that your child has “failure to thrive”?
Is your child a picky eater?
Does he or she frequently gag or choke when eating?
Is he or she having difficulty transitioning to solids?
It’s not your fault—nor is it likely to be a behavioral issue on your child’s part. These feeding issues are often the result of sensory motor dysfunction and potential structural issues (such as tongue tie and high palate), and can be treated with the appropriate intervention.
We’ll work with you to create a therapeutic program tailored to your child that may include a combination of oral motor therapy, tongue tie release (pre- and post-op exercises), occupational therapy, and craniosacral therapy.
This will help your child develop the sensory-motor skills required to support safe and effective eating and ensure that he or she gets adequate nutrition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What feeding problems do you address?
The problems we address include:
Inadequate caloric intake resulting in failure to thrive
Food refusal
Bottle dependence
Failure to advance in textures
Food selectivity
Pharyngeal dysfunction: cough, choke, gag
Vomiting
What are the goals of oral-motor/ feeding therapy?
To work on normal/typical movement patterns
To normalize oral sensitivity
To increase awareness of the oral mechanism
To improve feeding skills and nutritional intake: chewing, straw drinking, and cup drinking.
Do you specialize in assessing tongue ties?
We identify the functional issues causing the tongue tie and refer you to medical practitioners to address and treat them.
Do you have experience in treating babies and children who are medically complex?
We specialize in treating infants and toddlers with all types of feeding issues, including children who are medically complex or suffer from genetic syndromes such as CHARGE, Prader Willi, Down, Pierre Robin, Kleefstra, Trisomy 13, and Rett.
More Services
Consultations For Parents
Let’s be honest: managing your child’s services can feel like a full-time job. It can be confusing and overwhelming. It can make you wish you had someone to guide you in targeting your child’s goals. That’s what we’re here for.
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy
Our program helps patients replace damaging habits with healthy ones, ensuring that the structures in the mouth work properly and stay in balance.
Treatment for Speech Sound Disorders
We work to increase our patients’ awareness of their speech errors and practice correct production of sounds. This enables clearer speech and the confidence necessary to employ new skills in the context of everyday life.