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Feeding Therapy

Feeding Therapy

Overview

What is feeding therapy?

Feeding therapy helps infants and children build the skills they need to eat and drink safely and successfully. Eating is complex and involves many skills, including sucking, chewing, managing food or liquid in the mouth, and swallowing.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) help evaluate and treat pediatric feeding and swallowing difficulties. Depending on the child’s needs, feeding therapy may address oral-motor skills, chewing, swallowing safety and efficiency, progression to age-appropriate foods and textures, food variety, and overall mealtime participation.

Because feeding difficulties can have many causes, treatment should be individualized. An SLP can evaluate feeding and swallowing skills, identify areas of difficulty, provide treatment, and work with families and other professionals when extra support is needed.

The goal of feeding therapy is not just to get a child to eat more foods. It is to support safe nutrition and hydration, age-appropriate eating skills, and positive participation in mealtimes.

When to look closer

Feeding support may help if...

A feeding evaluation may be helpful if you notice:

  • Coughing, choking, or gagging during meals
  • Frequent vomiting or signs of discomfort when eating
  • Difficulty chewing or moving food around in the mouth
  • Pocketing food in the cheeks or taking a long time to finish meals
  • Limited food variety, strong selectivity, or refusal of entire food groups or textures
  • Strong emotional reactions or stress around meals
  • Trouble transitioning to new textures or age-expected foods
  • Poor weight gain or growth concerns
  • Wet or gurgly voice or breathing changes during or after eating

If one or more of these signs sounds familiar, an evaluation can help clarify what is making mealtimes difficult and what kinds of support may be most helpful.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is feeding therapy?

Feeding therapy helps children who have trouble developing the skills needed to eat and drink safely and effectively. Feeding involves many skills, including sucking, chewing, managing food and liquids in the mouth, and swallowing.

A speech-language pathologist can evaluate and treat feeding and swallowing difficulties related to oral-motor skills, chewing, swallowing safety and efficiency, food and texture acceptance, and progression toward age-appropriate eating skills. Treatment is individualized and may also include caregiver education and strategies for mealtimes at home.

Questions about feeding?

We're here to help meals feel less stressful and more manageable.

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