Feeding Therapy
At Can Do Kids, located in Cleveland, Tennessee, our feeding therapy program begins with assessing the reasons why your toddler, or child, won’t eat. We service Chattanooga, Ooltewah, Cleveland, Bradley County, Polk County, Athens, and many more surrounding areas.
What is feeding therapy?
Basically, in its simplest terms, feeding therapy helps children learn how to eat or how to eat better. Feeding therapists provide feeding therapy and are usually occupational therapists or speech and language pathologists (SLP). Some dietitian/nutritionists provide direct treatment, but more often provide support with additional services for some children to manage any weight or growth concerns when it is necessary.
No matter what their background, it is important to note that “feeding” is a specialty within a specialty. Not all OT’s and SLP’s are trained in pediatric practice, and not all pediatric therapists have advanced feeding therapy education and practice either.
Feeding therapy often happens on a weekly basis, but can be every other week or once a month during a scheduled block of time, usually 30-60 minutes long. Most often, this time is spent teaching your child how to eat new foods (if they have a very limited diet) or how to eat (if they don’t know how to chew or manage food in their mouth).
Who is Feeding Therapy For?
Babies are born hungry – but sometimes they have a little trouble learning to eat and swallow correctly. If your baby is having trouble with breast or bottle feeding, or as you introduce solid foods, if your baby seems to be a picky eater, a occupational therapist at Can Do Kids can help teach your baby how to eat better.
Signs to watch for:
- Is not gaining weight or growing
- Refuses to eat or drink
- Spits up or throws up a lot
- Cries or fusses, or arches her back when feeding
- Has trouble breathing while eating or drinking
- Has problems chewing or coughs or gags during meals
- Has a gurgle or breathy or hoarse voice during or after meals
At Can Do Kids, our experts begin with an evaluation process that assesses your child as a whole. We consult with a multidisciplinary team to ensure that all the reasons why your child won’t eat are identified and treated. Our Team consists of Speech-language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists, however we are happy to work with any specialist your child may be currently seeing. We are all committed to helping every parent improve their child’s growth and relationship with food.
It just takes a few minutes to sign up and get fast, easy access to care, 24/7. No need for your insurance card yet.
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Getting to know us
We are a highly rated Pediatric Therapy office in Cleveland, TN.
Our therapist’s #1 goal is to help your child reach their greatest potential!