Pediatric feeding therapy isn’t just about something like getting “picky eaters” to eat. There are many things tied up in the physical, sensory, and even social acts of eating. Most of us don’t give a second thought to how our teeth, lips, and tongue move food around in the mouth or how we process different tastes and food textures. 

For some kids, these things aren’t always so simple. Without proper nutrition from a wide variety of healthy foods, their physical development will be affected. They also miss out on the positive social developments associated with eating with others.

Overall, the goal of pediatric feeding therapy is to get a child to consume a wider variety of healthy, nutritious foods and to better enjoy mealtime.

Achieving this main goal can be broken down into individual “wins” including:

• Increasing acceptance of different food textures, tastes, and temperatures
• Improving ability in handling tools like utensils, cups, and straws
• Improving “coordination” of the muscles that are involved in feeding (such as chewing, biting, sucking, and swallowing)
• Helping infants learn to “latch” onto a breast or bottle
• Addressing any sensory stimulation that triggers mealtime tantrums

Nutritious food is essential in helping a child to grow healthy and strong. Enjoying mealtimes with family and friends is one of the best parts of life (at every stage). Pediatric feeding therapy gives a child the tools to fully savor and enjoy it all.

You can use a variation on these words to explain feeding therapy to your child:

Just like practicing numbers in school or learning your favorite sport, feeding therapy is about learning and practicing skills related to food to make it easier and more fun for you.

You’ll get to do things like play games, make up stories, and do other cool things based on the kinds of things that you love doing best. And you’ll grow bigger and stronger!

Note to parents: we encourage you to tell us more about your child ahead of the session. Learning about their different interests, how they deal with new challenges, and what excites and motivates them will help us structure the session to get the very best results.

If you’re still unsure about how to discuss this, get in touch. We’ve helped many families before and can offer helpful words and explanations that will resonate with your child. 

Your child is unique. The duration of a practice like feeding therapy will be determined by the goals that we set together as a team. 

During their work together, our therapist closely monitors your child. They steadily build on every achievement and determine new ways (based on the child’s personality and preferences) to get around any little hiccups that might arise. Our therapist will keep you on top of their progress every step of the way.

Please remember that your family is a big part of this process. We provide simple things to do at home to keep the momentum going; practicing their new skills is essential. 

Informing us of any new behaviors (such as a willingness to try a new food) provides a fuller picture of their progress. We then can adjust the pace and overall goals to provide you with an accurate estimate of how long your child should stay with feeding therapy.

Every child is their own unique person. There may be times when they go through a “picky” phase or get a little fussier than usual at mealtime. These things may pass. However, if they don’t, feeding therapy can help them make peace with food and eating, and get them back onto a healthy track.

Feeding issues fall into three basic categories: fear of eating, limited appetite, or very selective eating. Here are some signs that a child would benefit from feeding therapy.

• Losing weight or falling off in their growth; they’re more lethargic than usual
• Persistently refusing to eat: this may be related to social discomfort
• Extremely selective eating, like choosing to eat only “white” foods
• Gagging, choking, or vomiting more than usual can indicate challenges with oral skills (such as chewing, biting, swallowing)
• Trouble with feeding: holding utensils or bits of food, being able to self-feed at appropriate stages (such as a baby being able to go from a bottle to a cup).

If you’re uncertain, we’re happy to shed some light and answer any questions.

When it comes to food and eating, different behaviors, physical challenges, and emotions can be involved. We want your child to feel totally at ease with the therapist as they work toward their goals. To that end, we believe in maintaining a consistent relationship with the same therapists.

Regularly working as a team allows the therapists to really know your child and discover what drives them; that’s valuable in shaping each session to get the very best results.

We believe that children should have exposure to a variety of talented therapists that can best help your child achieve their goals.  Each client that comes more than one time per week, will be comfortable seeing different staff members.  This allows them access to all of our staffs’ talents, and allows their skills to generalize to multiple adults. It also allows staff members to take a vacation, and your child does not have to miss any appointment, as they are familiar with our team and comfortable continuing their plan of care with any therapist!

We do our very best to maintain an ongoing relationship between your child and the same therapists. Of course, there may be times when a last-minute change comes up; but, your child will feel comfortable with all therapists at No Limits and be able to adjust.

It’s pretty much standard practice to provide a referral to your insurance company from your pediatrician. However, as with many policies, there can be exceptions for feeding therapy treatment that may not always be so clear. We suggest checking with your carrier, but please know that we can help, too. We’re very familiar with the various ins and outs of insurance requirements and are happy to answer your questions.

Essentially, there are two parts to the process. A “screening” is an informal, get-to-know-you session where we discuss your concerns plus your child’s overall food and eating habits. We’ll want some basic medical history and background. Based on this first meeting, we may suggest a more thorough “evaluation” to better determine if pediatric feeding therapy is warranted.

If it is, a feeding therapy evaluation is a more in-depth meeting. You may want to check with your insurance company first to see if a referral from your pediatrician is required. At this meeting, a speech therapist will ask you about your child’s development and feeding history. We’ll review their medical history, which you’ve provided beforehand. You’ll also be asked about your family’s daily routine, the child’s food preferences, and your goals around this treatment.

Ahead of the evaluation, we may ask you to keep a short food diary of what he/she has eaten (or not) in recent days, and the circumstances around it. Then we see how they handle things like utensils, a cup, or a bottle (bringing these from home may make your child more comfortable). 

For babies or toddlers who can’t tell us what’s going on, we’ll observe them in normal feeding activities to see what might be getting in their way.

Of course, feeding therapy isn’t just for babies or toddlers. It can also be helpful for adolescents. During an evaluation, we’ll review their particular challenges, such as being a picky eater or eating too fast or too slowly. The point is to get them more comfortable around food and mealtime so that they take in the nourishment to keep growing in a healthy way and better enjoy the social interactions around food. 

Please know that the evaluation is designed to be fun, low-key, and non-threatening for your kiddo—no matter what their age.

Most insurance plans will cover pediatric feeding therapy. It frequently falls under speech or occupational therapy designations. If the diagnosis includes some version of “failure to thrive,” feeding therapy will likely be approved.

Naturally, every insurance company and policy is different. There may be certain “exclusions” on treatment that may not be clear. We recommend talking to your carrier for the specifics and required conditions around feeding therapy.

However, you don’t have to tackle this alone. We deal with insurance carriers every day and can be a helpful resource. Call us at (479) 250-9838.

We’re in-network with these carriers:

• AETNA
• Arkansas Medicaid
• Arkansas Total Care
• Blue Cross Blue Shield
• CareSource 
• Arkids A
• Arkids B
• Cigna
• Empower
• QualChoice
• Summit Community Care
• TEFRA

Many of the challenges we deal with in feeding therapy show up fairly early, such as a baby having trouble with breast- or bottle-feeding, or a toddler struggling with tolerating different food textures, like “crunchy” or “mushy.”

Some other indicators that feeding therapy should be considered include a child who gets especially fussy at mealtime, takes longer than 30 minutes to finish eating (or conversely, eats too fast). Also, if they limit themselves to eating just a few foods.

If your child exhibits any of the above, it’s a good idea to reach out for a consultation with a pediatric feeding therapist. Here are some other common indicators that your child might benefit from therapy; the sooner we get started, the sooner he or she will be back on the path to fully thriving.

• Losing weight or falling off in their growth; they’re more lethargic or sluggish than usual
• Persistently refusing to eat: this may be related to social discomfort
• Extremely selective eating, like choosing to eat only “white” foods
• Gagging, choking, or vomiting more than usual can indicate challenges with oral skills (such as chewing, biting, swallowing)
• Feeding difficulties, such as holding utensils or bits of food, or moving from using a bottle to a cup
• Messier-than-normal eating: losing a lot of food or drink from their mouths

As with many forms of therapy, starting sooner than later is always optimal. However, feeding therapy can be helpful for children of any age, including adolescents. No matter the age or stage that they’re at, we meet your child where they are and give them the tools for a healthier, less stressful relationship with food.

We’ve worked with a variety of kids over the years and are happy to share our experiences.  This should give you more insight into how feeding therapy can help your child’s unique situation. The bottom line is, it’s never too late!

Pediatric feeding therapy sessions typically run anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. However, those appointment times will ultimately be tailored to what works best for your child. 

Each session is built around games, activities, and play that make learning new skills fun. The therapist closely observes your little one as we build on previous achievements; we want every session to be positive and uplifting, so we don’t overload them. That’s when a shorter appointment might sometimes be the better option. However, some kids get so into what they’re accomplishing that they’ll want to stay as long as possible!

Within the standard 30 to 60-minute appointment window, we’re constantly engaging with your child to see what length of time is optimal for them. As we get to know them, we have a better understanding of how to maximize every minute to achieve their goals.