Does My Child Need Feeding Therapy?
If your child is experiencing any of the following challenges, it may be time to consider feeding therapy support.
- Eats less than 20 different foods
- Picky eating has lasted longer than 3 months
- Avoids certain textures or types of food completely
- Feeding your child is stressful or your child is difficult to feed
- Has meltdowns during meals
- Weight loss or slow weight gain
- Choking, gagging, or coughing often while eating
- Vomiting while eating
- Had a choking event in the past now causing fear with eating
- Has not started eating baby food purees by 10 months
- Has not started eating soft or regular table foods by 12 months
- Is not drinking from a cup by 16 months
Our Feeding Therapy Experts Can Help
Your child will be seen at CentraCare – River Campus Clinic in St. Cloud by a team of experts who understand feeding challenges. The team may include:
- Occupational therapists: help with motor skills and sensory issues
- Dietitians: make sure your child gets the right nutrition needed for growth
- Medical providers: check for health problems that affect eating
- Psychologists or counselors: help with behavior and emotions around food
All of these specialists work together in one place to support your child.
What to Expect at Your Visit
First, you’ll meet with a pediatric feeding specialist for an evaluation. Our specialists will:
- Evaluate your child’s anatomy (e.g., looking inside the mouth).
- Observe how they interact with food at the table.
- Assess their skill level and independence with eating.
- Create nutrition profile to determine if their current diet supports healthy growth and development.
- Next, you’ll receive a personalized treatment plan for your child. We’ll work with you to help your child learn to eat better, feel more comfortable at mealtimes, and meet nutrition needs to grow strong and healthy.
Conditions We Treat
You’ll find care and support for children 18 months and older with a suspected pediatric feeding disorder whose feeding challenges may be related to any of the following conditions:
- Oral motor skill deficits (difficulty biting/chewing)
- Behavioral feeding issues
- Feeding concerns of autistic children, or children with sensory integration disorder
- Children who do not feed themselves at expected ages
- Children who find the transition to textured foods difficult
- Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
- Poor growth or failure to thrive
- Gastroesophageal reflux (GER)
- Developmental or genetic concerns that limit oral feeding
- Tube feed weaning when working on advancing oral intake
What Is a Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD)?
PFD is characterized by impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate and is associated with medical, nutrition, feeding skill and/or psychosocial dysfunction. Children with PFD may not eat enough, may only eat a few types of foods or may avoid certain foods altogether.
What Is the Difference Between Picky Eating and a Feeding Disorder?
| Picky Eaters |
Potential Feeding Disorder |
|
Decreased range/variety of foods but will eat more than 30 foods
|
Low range or variety of foods, eating less than 20 foods
|
| Allow new foods on plate and usually can touch or taste |
Cries or experiences increased stress/anxiety when offered new foods |
| Eat at least 3-5 foods from all food groups |
Refuses entire categories of foods, textures or food groups |
| Typically eats with family, but frequently eats different foods than family |
Usually eats different foods than family and often eats alone |
|
When Is the CentraCare Feeding Disorders Program Not Right for My Child?
If your child has any of the following medical conditions or diagnoses, reach out to your child’s primary care provider to help you connect with the right specialists.
- Your child is suspected of aspirating and requires a swallow study.
- Your child has swallowing or choking concerns or has been diagnosed with dysphagia.
- Your child requires feeding therapy following a new diagnosis of cleft lip and palate.
- Your child has a feeding tube and you are starting first introductions to solid foods without previous medical clearance.
- Your child follows a special diet such as the ketogenic diet to treat epilepsy and seizures.
Do You Refer to Other Specialists?
As part of a comprehensive treatment plan, we may provide referrals to additional specialty providers including speech and language pathology, ear, nose and throat (ENT), gastroenterology (GI), medical genetics, pediatrics, or radiology and imaging.
What Should I Bring to My First Appointment?
To help with the evaluation, have your child arrive hungry and feel free to bring favorite foods or drinks. This may also include specific plates, spoons or cups your child is familiar with.
If you have not already completed the feeding intake questionnaire, bring this to your appointment for further review.
MyChart