Pediatric Feeding Therapy

“Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is defined as ‘impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate.’ Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists are the professionals responsible for addressing feeding difficulties that can be associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction."

Goday et al., (2019)

"Conservative evaluations estimate that PFD affects more than 1 in 37 children under the age of 5 in the United States each year. For these infants and children, every bite of food can be painful, scary, or impossible, potentially impeding nutrition, development, growth, and overall well-being.”

feedingmatters.org (2023)

OTs are trained to specifically address sensory processing & oral motor feeding deficits, which may include difficulties with:

  • Tolerance to sight/smell/taste of food

  • Volume intake

  • Food variety acceptance

  • Food texture acceptance

  • Accepting only certain colors, textures, or tastes (i.e. salty/sweet) of foods

  • Managing a variety of foods in the mouth

  • Oral habits, such as stuffing, spitting out or holding food in mouth

  • Eating from utensils

  • Drinking from a cup/straw

  • Chewing difficulties

SLPs are specifically trained to address swallowing disorders, (dysphagia) as well as oral motor skills. Dysphagia or oral motor deficits may include difficulties with:

  • Taking food by mouth due to complex medical needs (i.e. requiring tube feeds)

  • Volume intake

  • Food refusals

  • Breathing while eating

  • Safely managing a variety of textures (i.e., hard and soft foods)

  • Coughing, choking, or gagging during feeding

  • Eating from utensils

  • Drinking from a cup/straw

  • Chewing difficulties

There can be an overlap between feeding therapy intervention provided by an OT and SLP. However, many caregivers—and even other healthcare providers— are unaware of how the two differ and why one discipline may be more appropriate than the other. Interested in learning how we plan to combat the problem of incorrect provider referrals? Click below to hear about our multidisciplinary feeding evaluations!