The Children’s Therapy Center FEEDING SOLUTIONS feeding therapy program is designed to provide assessment and individualized treatment of feeding problems related to medical conditions, feeding aversions, swallowing difficulties, failure to thrive, and behavior related problems for infants and children.

Our program includes home-based and center-based assessment and treatment options provided by occupational and speech therapists. Many children and their families are more comfortable with feeding intervention in their home environment. Success of the program is greatly affected by the child’s comfort level. By providing direct 1:1 service for feeding therapy we can determine strategies that work for each child and pace the program according to the child’s needs and strengths. We offer parent support and parent education along the way. We can build success into the feeding experience by taking small steps that eliminate anxiety, and gradually transition from therapist to parent/caregiver so that they more deeply understand the components that reinforce success for their child.

Specific feeding issues that may be addressed include:

• Difficulty sucking, chewing, swallowing; dysphagia
• Recurrent gagging or vomiting; reflux
• Food/drink refusal
• Do not feed themselves at appropriate ages
• Transition from gastrostomy feedings to oral feedings
• Transitions related to tracheostomies
• Failure-to-thrive
• Food selectivity (by type or texture)
• Transition from liquids or soft foods to textured foods
• Abnormalities of the mouth and throat that affect eating
• Mealtime behavior problems (tantrums, lengthy meals)
• Sensory problems – aversion to touching food with hands or mouth, “picky eaters”
• Difficulty transitioning from breast-feeding to cup/bottle or pureed foods
• Neurological impairments and/or developmental delays affecting eating
• Parent education
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    • Our therapists communicate directly with other specialists involved in a child’s care relating to the child’s feeding needs when appropriate. We recommend a swallow study prior to beginning feeding therapy and ongoing when there is any concern about aspiration.
    • We accept most insurances and Medical Assistance.
    • We offer a free consultation with families to assess if we are a good match for the needs of their child before we evaluate.

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