Helping Infants/Children to Eat a Variety of Foods & Textures

What is a Selective/Restrictive Eater?

• A Selective (picky) eater is a child who eats 20-30 foods in 3 areas (proteins, fruits/vegetables, carbohydrates)
• A Restricitve (problem) eater is a child who eats
• We prefer the term, Eating Challenges, to describe the difficulties our clients face
• Other terms include: Food Neophobia, Infantile Anorexia, Picky/Problem/Selective/Restrictive Eater
• Our experience shows that most children with eating challenges have a combination of difficulties: medical history (reflux, food allergies, illness, a significant food “event”), ORAL MOTOR difficulties (stability, control, coordination, and dissociation of the jaw, lips, tongue), sensory challenges (the look, touch/texture, smell, taste of foods), & resultant behavioral challenges including anxiety concerning foods

Services Available:

• In-depth Eating & Oral Motor Evaluations for Eating or Swallowing Challenges
• Therapy for Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Elementary-aged and Older Children
• Therapy for Adults
• Training/Coaching for Parents or Care Givers
• Help Me Eat classes/groups for any age
• Help Me Eat summer camp

Therapy Techniques including:

• Our Help Me Eat program—a combination of—
• Our skilled approach based on our 20 years of experience and knowledge
• Kay Toomey’s SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) approach to feeding
• Food Chaining
• Suzanne Evans Morris’ Mealtime strategies
• Structured oral placement exercises (Talk Tools hierarchies)
• Beckman stretches
• Training for parents in how to conduct therapy meals at home

Therapy for the Following Needs:

• Expanding the variety of foods accepted by a person with eating challenges
• Normalize sensory skills that support eating
• Parent/ family training in carryover techniques for home
• Support/teach techniques for difficult breastfeeding
• Assist with bottle drinking
• Teach general feeding skills
• Overcome swallowing difficulties
• Learn to eat textured foods
• Transition from the bottle to the cup
• Drink from a straw
• Eliminate pacifier and thumb sucking dependency
• Transition from feeding tubes to oral feeding
• Swallowing safety