Pediatric Feeding Disorders
Pediatric feeding disorders are complex. Pediatric feeding disorders range from children who are “picky eaters” to children who rely on external feeding devices such as a G-tube. Each child’s progression thru their feeding journey is different and individualized programs that adjust with each family’s journey make a difference. MetroEHS provides individualized care for every client.
Infant feeding
MetroEHS therapists work with infants and parents who struggle with feeding whether that means bottle feeding, breastfeeding, reflux issues, troubles with oral motor skills, or even transitioning to solids foods.
Common issues therapists address in infant feeding:
- *Trouble with latching
- *Leaking during feeding
- *Trouble with coordination with sucking, swallow, and breathing
- *Excessive time to feed
- *Taking only a few ounces at a time
- *Lack of hunger
- *Excessive spitting up or vomiting
- *Slow weight gain
- *”Dream feeding” or eating heavily at night
Intensive Feeding Program
An intensive based program follows the principles of a very big word: neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the practice of retraining the brain. In order to make a meaningful and lasting change in the brain, we must provide repetition. For this reason, effective intensive feeding treatments at MetroEHS require we treat a child for two hours a day 5 days weeks for 4 weeks at time. Each intensive session focuses on one or two goals at a time.
G-Tube and other Enteral Feeding
A child who relies on enteral feeding often comes with a whole host of issues. Some of these issues include: what to feed them, how to feed them, issues with vomiting and reflux, timed feedings, how to maintain feeding skills. MetroEHS feeding therapy team can help with all this as well as weaning programs, maintaining oral motor skills, and we will work with your medical team to maximize your tube
Common Issues
–Picky eating
-Poor oral intake
-Bottle refusals
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-Oral aversion
-Sensory related feeding issues (tactile defensiveness)
-Trouble transitions to solid food
-Dependence external source of feeding (ex. G-tube or NG tubes)
-Gagging or retching on foods
-Mealtime behaviors
-Not sitting at the table
-Trouble with swallowing and dysphagia
-Decreased chewing
-Poor oral motor skills ( biting, lip closure)
-Tongue thrust
-Fear and anxiety around food
Diagnosis frequently seen include but not limited to:
-Cerebral Palsy
-Brain injury
-Autism
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-Developmental delays
-Cortical Vision Impairment
-Failure to thrive
-Tracheostomy
-Sensory Processing Disorder
-ADD/ ADHD
-Laryngomalacia
-Esophageal Atresia
-Reflux
-Down Syndrome
-Gastroparesis
-Prematurity
-Heart and lung defects
-ARFID
-EOE
-Russel Silver Syndrome
-Tongue and tip ties
-FPIES
-Tuner Syndrome
-Laryngeal Cleft and other rare diseases
The MetroEHS Pediatric Therapy Feeding Program is available at every neighborhood therapy center. Our collaborative approach includes an Occupational Therapist, a Speech-Language Pathologist, a Physical Therapist, a Registered Dietitian and a Psychologist. The MetroEHS Pediatric Feeding Program is designed to target your child’s specific needs and is accepting new clients.
We are passionate about eating! We know that having a “picky eater” is hard for the whole family. Our goal for feeding therapy is safe, functional, and positive eating experiences to improve quality of life!
Evaluation – Our comprehensive one and a half hour feeding evaluation will be completed by the three specialists at the same time. Following the evaluation, our team will review our findings and recommend if therapy is necessary, which therapies are required for best progress, and the frequency and duration of feeding therapy. We will also refer to other professionals, if necessary.
Success – We want the success in our clinic to generalize across a variety of settings, including home meals, school lunches, and restaurants. To achieve success across settings, we encourage families to observe and participate throughout their child’s time in feeding therapy. Considering a family’s goals and culture is important for feeding therapy, and we want our families to be as involved as possible.
The MetroEHS team collaborates frequently during the treatment process to create a child-specific program in order to support progress and success. We want to use our training to determine the best techniques to help your child.
See which Neighborhood Therapy Center location is nearest to you.
MetroEHS Pediatric Therapy serves Metro Detroit with professional, personalized and goal-oriented Pediatric Therapy. MetroEHS, as an organization, can craft therapy to meet the needs of clients using proven therapy in the following main disciplines.
ABA Therapy – Autism Services focused on assessing & creating a custom plan to reach agreed upon goals, Serving clients with conveniently located ABA Therapy Centers.
Speech Therapy – Child Speech Therapy – Difficulties in areas of communication, swallowing, speech or language, MetroEHS serves clients with conveniently located Speech Therapy Centers.
Occupational Therapy – Sensory Therapy – With the focus being to create goals important to the child and family, MetroEHS serves clients with conveniently located Occupational Therapy Centers.
Physical Therapy – MetroEHS Pediatric Physical Therapy works with children of all ages and diagnoses, whether your child is behind on their milestones, has a neurological diagnosis, or suffered an injury during play.
