As a feeding therapist, I often speak as if everyone knows what pediatric feeding therapy is and who can benefit from it. But that’s just not the case. Many people have never heard of it before!
So let’s dig into what it is and how it can be beneficial.
Pediatric feeding therapy in its simplest form is when a trained therapist, either a Speech-Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist, work with a child to teach them how to eat, increase the number of foods accepted, and/or swallow safely. (There are trained therapists who work with adults who have difficulty eating or swallowing but for the purposes of this blog post, we are referring to those who specialize in working with children.)
What are indications that you should seek out a pediatric feeding evaluation?
- difficulty chewing food and/or swallowing whole pieces
- gagging
- choking
- difficulty swallowing foods
- colicky
- clicking on bottle or breast
- difficulty with certain textures or difficulty transitioning from purees to different textures
- coughing frequently when feeding
- fussy during feedings
- difficulty latching to breast or bottle
- stopping and starting often during a feeding
- grazing throughout the day and refusing to sit and eat an entire meal
- vomiting during or after eating
- picky eater
Where do you begin?
We recommend beginning with a pediatric feeding evaluation.
What happens in a pediatric feeding evaluation?
When a child comes for an initial evaluation for a feeding delay/disorder, the therapist will evaluate their ability to chew, swallow, drink, and accept a variety of foods. The evaluation may include the therapist observing your child eating, drinking, completing oral motor activities like chewing food or non-food items (teether or chewy tube), nursing, and drinking from a bottle or cup (depending on age). Prior to and/or during the evaluation the therapist will also obtain a medical history, making sure to understand your concerns around feeding, developmental milestones, and learn about what foods your child accepts/eats along with the foods you would like for them to accept/eat.
How do you determine what to work on with a child in therapy?
The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if there is a feeding delay/disorder and if so, what areas need to be addressed in feeding therapy. Pediatric feeding therapy will then be individualized to target any deficits found in the evaluation. The therapist will find ways to make it fun and engaging while following the child’s lead. We also want parents engaging in therapy activities so that you can work on these things at home without your feeding therapist present. A lot of the magic happens in feeding therapy when the work continues beyond the therapy session. Our goal is to help parents/caregivers feel confident in implementing feeding therapy activities at home. This is how we reach our goals and move toward graduating a child from feeding therapy.
