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Heartspring feeding therapist working with a client on introducing new foods in a pediatric feeding therapy session

In our dedicated feeding therapy space, food takes the center stage as the most exciting thing in the room. We encourage families to learn alongside their child, where there's always a seat at the table.

What is Feeding Therapy?

Feeding therapy helps children who struggle with eating, whether due to sensory aversions, motor challenges, or medical conditions, develop safe, functional, and more enjoyable mealtime strategies and habits.

Food Textures

We help children gradually tolerate and manage different food textures, supporting safer chewing and swallowing and broadening their comfort with a variety of foods.

Trying New Foods

Through gentle exposure and play-based strategies, therapy encourages children to explore and accept new foods at their own pace without pressure or stress.

Integrating Food Groups

We guide children in expanding their diet to include a balanced mix of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains, supporting better nutrition and long-term health.

Oral Motor Skills Related to Eating

Therapy targets the strength and coordination of muscles used for chewing, sucking, and swallowing, helping your child eat more efficiently and safely.

Sensory Regulation During Mealtime

Children sensitive to smells, textures, or the act of eating itself learn strategies to help them stay calm and comfortable at the table.

Specialized Therapeutic Strategies

Our multidisciplinary feeding therapists, specially trained in proven, research-based methods, provide play-based, tailored approaches to meet children’s unique feeding challenges.

Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach

This evidence-based method helps children explore food through play and sensory steps, building comfort and trust before they’re expected to taste or eat.

Play-Based Individual and Group Therapy

Feeding therapy can be one-on-one or in small groups, using play and peer modeling to make food exploration feel fun, social, and less intimidating.

Beckman Oral Motor Assessments and Protocols

Our trained therapists use this structured approach to assess and improve oral motor function, targeting specific movements needed for safe and effective feeding.

Could These Feeding Diagnoses Apply to Your Child?

Pediatric Feeding Disorder

For children with persistent difficulties related to eating, nutrition, or mealtime behavior, feeding therapy addresses underlying causes and builds sustainable skills for better life-long relationships with food.

Dysphagia, Oral Phase

We work with children who struggle with the oral phase of swallowing, helping them manage food safely in their mouth and preparing them for effective, coordinated swallowing.

Our Feeding Therapists

Our multidisciplinary feeding therapists bring expertise from their fields, working together to support your child’s growth, comfort, and success at mealtimes.

Heartspring employee portrait: Nikki Bina
Nikki Bina, MS, CCC-SLP

Outpatient Services Interdisciplinary Therapy Clinical Director

Heartspring employee portrait: Emily Anderson
Emily Anderson, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist

Heartspring employee portrait: Carolina Gonzalez
Carolina Gonzalez, MS, CCC-SLP

Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist

Heartspring employee portrait: Katie Patton
Katie Patton, MS, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Heartspring employee portrait: Leah Prater
Leah Prater, MA, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Request a Feeding Therapy Appointment

Pediatric feeding therapy empowers children to develop better relationships with food by addressing their sensory and emotional barriers to eating — one step at a time.

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Otto's Feeding Therapy Success

“Preparing food and feeding him meals became a burden. I knew for him to be healthy and strong that he needed help.”

— Megan, Otto's Mother