What is feeding therapy
Feeding therapy is specialist work with infants and children who have difficulties with food intake. It may involve problems with breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, transitioning to solid foods, food selectivity, food refusal, or gagging during meals.
At NidoMed, feeding therapy is provided by speech-language pathologists with additional training in clinical feeding. We work with the full picture: we assess not only feeding technique, but also orofacial muscle tone, oral anatomy (frenulum, palate), reflex integration, sensory development, and the child's posture during meals.
When to consider feeding therapy
- Your infant has difficulty latching onto the breast, keeps slipping off, feeds for a very long time, or feeding is painful for the mother.
- Your infant is not gaining sufficient weight.
- Your child gags on solid food or refuses food of a certain consistency.
- Your child eats only a few foods (food selectivity) — refusing new flavours and textures.
- Your child vomits during or after meals (beyond reflux diagnosed by a paediatrician).
- Mealtimes have become a source of stress for the child and the family.
- Your child was born prematurely and needs support learning to eat.
What to expect
Feeding therapy is work with the child, but also with the parents. The therapist demonstrates techniques, explains the underlying mechanisms, and guides parents step by step. Sessions may include a meal (the child eats during the visit while the therapist observes and corrects) or may be purely diagnostic. For infants, the therapist assesses sucking directly and may suggest techniques to facilitate feeding on the same day.