Feeding Therapy

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are integral members of an interprofessional team to diagnose and manage feeding and swallowing disorders. Feeding therapists may partner with occupational therapists, nutritionists, gastroenterologists (GI), allergists or other specialist to provide well rounded care.

 

Feeding therapy may begin early in life with breast or bottle feeding, during the transition to solid foods, or later to support increased variety of foods in an individuals diet. Feeding therapy may support oral intake and/or supplemental feedings, including NG or G-tube feeding.  

 

Feeding therapy targets oral motor development, and sensory motor development, to support positive participation in mealtime routines. Therapy sessions are focused on new food introduction and advancement to enjoying a greater variety of foods that are part of family meals. Feeding therapy promotes safe exploration of targeted foods while building oral motor skills for chewing/swallowing varied food textures and flavors.

 

Caregivers are integral players in feeding therapy. Coaching may be provided to support reading feeding cues, structuring mealtime routines, increasing participation with preparing and exploring foods for family meals, and responding to challenging mealtimes behaviors. Social dynamics of the feeding relationship may also be a focus of therapy for young children and their caregivers. ​​