Feeding Therapy

Signs your child may need this therapy

• Accepts fewer than 15–20 different foods
• Refuses entire food groups or textures
• Gags or vomits at the sight or smell of new food
• Mealtimes routinely take over 40 minutes and end in tears
• Poor weight gain or nutritional deficiency
• Still on puréed food well past the expected age

Benefits of Feeding Therapy

• A steadily expanding food repertoire
• Reduced mealtime anxiety and conflict
• Improved chewing and swallowing safety
• Better nutrition and growth
• Ability to eat at school and at family events
• Confident parents with a clear mealtime plan

Treatment process

1. STEP 1

   Detailed OT evaluation

   A 60–75 minute session covering developmental history, sensory profile, muscle tone, coordination, hand skills and daily-living independence, using tools such as the Sensory Profile-2 and DASII/Peabody-based motor measures.

2. STEP 2

   Shared goal setting

   We translate findings into 3–5 functional goals that matter at home and school — holding a pencil, sitting through a meal, tolerating a haircut, buttoning a shirt.

3. STEP 3

   Individual therapy plan

   Your child receives a written plan specifying session frequency, activity progression, equipment used and the home programme that supports it.

4. STEP 4

   Weekly play-based sessions

   45-minute one-to-one sessions in our sensory gym and fine-motor studio. Activities are graded so your child is always working just beyond their comfort zone, never past it.

5. STEP 5

   Parent training

   The last 10 minutes of every session are for you: what we did, why, and the two or three things to practise before the next visit.

6. STEP 6

   Progress review

   Formal re-assessment every 12 weeks with a written report, updated goals and a discharge pathway once targets are met.