Feeding Disorders/Picky Eaters

How We can Help!

Understanding your child’s development and behaviors can be challenging and overwhelming. With many different opinions and suggestions on what your child should or shouldn’t be doing can be stressful and confusing. Although, having the proper resources and education is important to improve your knowledge on ways to help your child develop to the best of their ability and Kids in Motion/Ivy Rehab for Kids is here to help. 

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Signs and Symptoms

Difficulty With Feeding:

• Difficulty transitioning between foods
  • Milk/formula to puree
  • Purees to soft solids
  • Soft solids to hard solids
  • Mixed textures

 

• Variety of foods less than 20
  • Limited protein sources
  • Limited vegetable sources
  • Limited fruit sources
  • High carbohydrate foods only
  • Omitting entire food groups

 

• Does not allow changes in food (food Jag)
  • Color
  • Texture
  • Temperature
  • Taste
  • Packaging

 

• Not meeting oral motor developmental milestones

• Cries, screams, and or tantrums with introducing new foods

 

• Oral motor concerns
  • Drooling
  • Unable to spit out toothpaste
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Food/fluid loss from oral cavity during meals
  • Coughing/gagging
  • Tethered oral tissue
  • Tongue or lip ties
  •  

Benefits of Occupational:

• SOS feeding approach steps to feeding desensitization program
• Rehabilitation of post surgical tethered oral tissue
• Oral motor strengthening and neuromuscular re-education training to enhance feeding/eating skills

 

The goal of feeding therapy is to support a child’s oral motor development and mealtime behaviors to enhance participation and engagement in feeding. Feeding therapy is more than just “teaching a child to eat.” Occupational Therapists work closely with patients and their families to determine the source of the child’s difficulties and develop a plan of care to make the entire process of eating easier and more enjoyable.

 

See more helpful information on feeding concerns in our Developmental Checklists here 

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Kids in Motion Pediatric Therapy clinic provides services in all areas from speech, occupational, and physical therapy to address the signs/symptoms stated above related to Feeding Disorders. 

 

Speech therapy will help improve your child’s communication skills by learning verbal and/or nonverbal skills. A speech therapist will engage your child in a variety of auditory and verbal stimuli such as story books, picture cards, interactive games, actual objects, etc. using different approaches and techniques to improve language skills. A speech therapist can also teach the use of an augmentative communication devices, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), and American Sign Language. These devices and techniques can improve communication by using pictures and symbols to ask and answer questions when interacting with others.
  

Occupational therapy will use creative therapeutic activities to increase independence and success in ADL, fine motor, visual motor, and sensory processing skills. Occupational therapist will introduce innovative methods to improve self-dressing, self-hygiene and self-feeding skills. Your child will engage in client centered activities to increase strength and coordination/control in hands and upper extremities to complete age appropriate fine motor and visual motor skills with greater success. Occupational therapist will demonstrate and educate family on variety of sensory diet strategies specific for your child’s needs to improve regulation to perform optimally in everyday activities.
  

Physical therapy will help improve your child’s strength, coordination, and balance through therapeutic exercise and activities to increase success in age appropriate gross motor skills. Child will also engage in tasks such as obstacle courses incorporating variety of gym equipment to improve motor planning skills. Physical therapist may target gait retraining if toe-walking is present by working on your child’s range of motion, strengthening and incorporating different sensory techniques. Consultation with an orthotist can also be provided if needed.
  

Still have questions and concerns?

We are committed to helping children of all abilities achieve and live their full potential. With experienced and compassionate Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists and four locations to serve you, we feel confident that you will be more than satisfied with the care and support your child receives.  
 

Check out our free Interactive Online Screener – once completed, it will respond with ideas to help your child in the areas you specify they might be having trouble with or contact us at 248-684-9610.