Feeding Therapy
Understanding Feeding Therapy
Common Signs of Feeding Difficulties
- Eating fewer than 20 different foods.
- Refusing specific textures of foods.
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing.
- Gagging, coughing, or choking during meals.
- Prolonged mealtimes or food avoidance.
- Challenges participating in a mealtime.
Who May Benefit from Feeding Therapy?
- Children with sensory processing difficulties that affect their acceptance of foods.
- Children with oral motor challenges that impact their ability to chew and swallow.
- Children with medical conditions that affect their ability to safely consume a variety of consistencies.
How Feeding Therapy Can Help
Our experienced speech-language pathologists provide comprehensive evaluations to determine the underlying causes of feeding difficulties. Based on the evaluation, we create an individualized treatment plan that focuses on:
- Improving oral motor skills for chewing and swallowing.
- Reducing sensory sensitivities and increasing food acceptance.
- Promoting positive mealtime experiences to reduce stress for the child, parents, and caregivers.
- Ensuring adequate consumption to meet their nutritional needs for continued growth.
What to Expect from Our Therapy Sessions
- Assessment: We begin with a thorough assessment to understand your child’s specific feeding challenges.
- Personalized Plan: A customized therapy plan is developed to address your child’s unique needs and goals.
- Interactive Activities: Our therapy sessions include engaging activities and exercises to improve feeding skills and make mealtime more enjoyable.
- Progress Monitoring: We continuously monitor your child’s progress and adjust the therapy plan as needed to ensure meaningful improvements.
Our Approach to Feeding Therapy
- Evidence-Based Practices: Our therapists use proven techniques and methodologies to address feeding difficulties.
- Family Involvement: We involve parents and caregivers in the therapy process to provide support and reinforcement at home.
- Positive and Encouraging Environment: We create a supportive atmosphere where children feel comfortable and motivated to practice their feeding skills.
Therapeutic Techniques We Use
- Oral Motor Exercises: Activities to strengthen the muscles used for chewing and swallowing.
- Sensory Integration: Techniques to help children become more comfortable with different food textures and tastes.
- Mealtime: Approaches to encourage positive mealtime routines for children and their families.
- Parent/Caregiver Education & Involvement: The parents are a part of the time learning strategies to promote positive and safe mealtime experiences at home and in the community.
Benefits of Feeding Therapy
- Improved Chewing and Swallowing Skills: Enhanced ability to chew, swallow, and manage different food textures for safe consumption.
- Increased Food Acceptance: Willingness to explore new foods and expand dietary variety.
- Positive Mealtime Experiences: Reduced mealtime stress and more enjoyable eating experiences.
- Better Nutrition and Growth: Promoting nutritional mealtimes for healthy development.
"We had the most wonderful experience with Chicago Speech Therapy! Our speech pathologist, Miss Megan, developed a bond with our son almost immediately. By week two, he would await her arrival by the window in our front door! She quickly discovered all of his favorite things and would bring so many toys of her own that would keep him engaged and wanting to talk! She gave us (parents) tons of strategies to work with on our own in between her weekly visits. Our son made consistent progress under her care and has now been released from speech therapy ~ which actually makes us so sad ~ simply because we miss Miss Megan! She basically became part of our family and will be dearly missed. I couldn’t recommend Miss Megan and Chicago Speech Therapy more!"
"The process w/ CST was smooth, from the intake process, registration, processing insurance to on-going communication. Sarah was the Speech Therapist for our 9-year-old and she established a wonderful rapport with her and gained her trust over the months. I highly recommend CST."
