Feeding Therapy
Feeding issues are common in kids of all ages, and can be extremely stressful for parents. Most children with feeding issues can benefit from feeding therapy. Here at GBS, our highly skilled Speech Language Pathologist and BCBAs use the latest techniques to help your children. Our services are science based, results driven, and closely tied to the principles of ABA therapy.
GBS is proud to offer Feeding Therapy at our West Long Branch Clinic.
Feeding issues can be medical in nature, a combination of medical and behavioral, or strictly behavioral. Kids can also develop behavioral feeding issues due to medical issues when they were babies. For example, a baby with undiagnosed acid reflux may come to associate feeding time with pain or discomfort. Since the baby doesn’t understand, and the reflux goes untreated, they start to develop feeding issues. As the child grows, they may no longer have reflux, but they still associate eating with pain or discomfort. In this example, the feeding issues are now behavioral, but they developed because of a medical issue.
Potential signs and symptoms of feeding disorders
- Refusing to eat certain food groups
- Throwing tantrums at mealtimes
- Trouble accepting and swallowing different food textures
- Eats better for one caregiver than another
- Does not sit for structured mealtime
- Will only eat with the use of distractors
- Refusing to eat any solids or liquids
- Oral motor and sensory difficulties
- Gastrostomy (g-tube) or naso-gastric (ng-tube) dependency
- Only eating brand or location specific foods; ie. only McDonald’s chicken nuggets, only pizza from a local restaurant
Other conditions and diagnoses that may be associate with feeding issues
- Oral Motor Dysfunction
- Esophagitis
- Gastritis
- Duodenitis
- Food allergies
- Delayed exposure to a variety of foods
- Behavior management issues
- Short Gut Syndrome
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Gastrointestinal motility disorders
- Palate defects
- Failure to thrive
- Prematurity
What does feeding therapy with GBS look like?
Strategies
- Play based feeding therapy
- Desensitization therapy
- Positive reinforcement
- Providing home strategies/plans
- SBT (Skill Based Treatment) for feeding – promoting children being happy, relaxed, and engaged
Goals
- Increasing variety and amount of foods consumed
- Increasing textural variety of foods consumed
- Decreasing problem behaviors at meal times
- Improving behaviors and food selectivity at restaurants
- Considering the priorities and cultural values of the family
Whatever level of assistance or support you need, Graham Behavior Services is fully equipped to help you and your family! Contact us to get started.
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Speech-Language Pathologist
Meet Deborah Bonomo, M.S., CCC-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist
Deborah Bonomo, M.S., CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist who received her Master of Science degree in Communication Disorders from William Paterson University. She earned a post master’s certificate in Autism Studies from the University of Massachusetts. Deborah has worked in a variety of settings including early intervention, public schools and private practice. She is a believer in building strong relationships not only with her clients, but with the family and caregivers of her clients. Deborah serves on the advisory board of Arts for Autism.
