What is feeding therapy?
Feeding Therapy is used for assessing and treating children with feeding and weight/growth difficulties. The therapy uses principles and practices from multiple disciplines including psychology, pediatrics, occupational therapy, dietetics, and speech-language pathology. The approach combines sensory, motor, oral, behavioral/learning, medical, and nutritional factors and approaches in order to fully evaluate and manage children with feeding/growth problems. The approach is grounded philosophically in the stages and skills of feeding/eating found in typically developing children.
What needs do feeding therapy address?
Feeding Therapy help with the following issues:
- Difficulty chewing foods, typically swallowing food in whole pieces.
- Difficulty swallowing foods or refuses to swallow certain types of food consistencies.
- Refuses to eat certain food textures or has difficulty transitioning from one texture to another texture (ex: from bottle feedings to purees, from purees to soft solids or mixed textured foods).
- Gags on, avoids or is very sensitive to certain food textures, food temperatures and/or flavors.
- Struggles to control and coordinate moving food around in mouth, chewing and preparing to swallow food.
- Fussy or irritable with feeding.
- The child seems congestion during feedings or after.
- Frequently coughs when eating.
- Gags and chokes when eating.
- Frequently vomits during or immediately after eating or drinking.
- Refuses or rarely tries new foods.
- Pushes food away.
- Has difficulty transitioning from gastric tube (G tube) feedings to oral feedings.
- Negative mealtime behaviors (infant cries, arches, pulls away from food; child refuses to eat, tantrums at mealtimes or “shuts-down” and does not engage in mealtime).
- Infant demonstrating signs of difficulty with coordinating the suck/swallow/breath pattern during bottle or breastfeeding.
- Feeding time taking longer than 30 minutes for infants, and 30 to 40 minutes for toddlers or young children.
- Known to be a “picky eater” who eats a limited variety of foods or consistencies.
Why should i pick Crossway for my feeding therapy needs?
At Crossway, our highly skilled therapy team uses evidence-based approaches to help determine the source of the child’s difficulties and develop very specific therapies, such as S.O.S. (Sequential Oral Sensory), to help children with their food intake. Our therapists can assist in pin-pointing the underlying reason why your child is struggling with picky or problem eating.
