Therapy for Feeding Disorders
Helping adults and children develop healthy feeding habits and overcome mealtime challenges with expert, personalized care
Feeding disorders can be frustrating and confusing for both you and your loved one. Feeding therapy pairs the individual (we welcome all ages!) with a feeding disorder with a licensed SLP to help develop healthy eating habits, improve oral motor skills, and ultimately reduce mealtime stress. Feeding therapy for infants and toddlers plays a crucial role in enhancing various skills related to the feeding process. This type of therapy focuses on improving oral motor skills necessary for effective eating, such as sucking, chewing, and moving food within the mouth. It also addresses essential swallowing techniques, ensuring that the child can safely and efficiently consume different textures of food. Furthermore, feeding therapy is instrumental in guaranteeing that your loved one receives the proper nutrition needed for healthy growth and development. By working closely with trained professionals, caregivers can learn strategies to promote positive feeding experiences, which can lead to better eating habits and overall well-being in young children. Feeding therapy provides a structured yet flexible approach designed specifically for school-aged children who are either hypersensitive to sensory stimuli or have been categorized as “picky eaters." This therapeutic intervention creates a nurturing and supportive environment, free from pressure and anxiety, where your child is encouraged to discover and experiment with various foods. The process allows kids to engage with different textures, colors, and flavors comfortably, fostering a sense of autonomy and confidence. Through fun activities and gentle guidance from trained professionals, children gradually learn to expand their dietary preferences while developing healthier relationships with food.
Feeding therapy can provide significant benefits for adults experiencing swallowing difficulties, such as dysphagia, which is a medical condition that impairs the ability to swallow effectively. Therapies to improve this area are not limited to just physical challenges; they also address sensory-related feeding concerns. Adults who struggle with sensory processing may find certain textures, tastes, or temperatures overwhelming, leading to avoidance of specific foods or meals altogether. Through a structured feeding therapy program, individuals can engage in guided practices that improve their swallowing mechanics and enhance their overall comfort and satisfaction during mealtimes. This support ultimately helps build their confidence in consuming a wider variety of foods safely, allowing for a more enjoyable and nourishing eating experience, which is vital for maintaining physical and emotional well-being.
Explore Feeding Disorder Treatment Options
Therapy options are crafted to address the unique requirements of each individual, taking into account your age and the specific challenges they encounter with feeding. These customized therapeutic approaches encompass a broad spectrum of interventions that address areas such as sensory processing, motor skills, and behavioral factors, which pertain to the psychological and emotional responses that influence eating habits.
Each approach is designed to work jointly, allowing therapists to effectively manage and support individuals struggling with feeding disorders by targeting the root of their difficulties and maintaining a positive feeding therapy experience. Key treatments include:
Oral-Motor Therapy
Oral motor therapy is a specialized approach designed to enhance and fortify the muscular structures involved in the complex processes of chewing and swallowing. This therapy aims to maximize both safety and efficiency during meals, ensuring a more enjoyable and secure dining experience for individuals.
Sensory-Based Feeding Therapy
Sensory-based feeding works with people who have food aversions and sensitivities, and it may be causing nutritional deficiencies! This type of therapy will allow you to move towards managing a variety of food textures, temperatures, and tastes to ensure nutrition and improve health.
Behavioral Feeding Therapy
Speech therapists working with individuals with feeding concerns often employ positive reinforcement techniques to increase the desired behaviors and hopefully minimize food aversions, increasing the willingness to explore a variety of foods in a stress-free environment.
Technology-Assisted Therapy Tools
Our telehealth platform provides SLPs with therapeutic tools for an engaging therapy experience. Virtual sessions enhance accessibility and keep you motivated. SLPs will encourage independent practice of the skills learned. Ask your SLP about home practice opportunities to enrich your journey.
Schedule a consultation with a Verse Specialist today to get started on your personalized feeding therapy plan.
Understanding Feeding Disorders
Feeding disorders can significantly affect a growing child's nutrition, development, and overall health. When a child experiences a feeding disorder, they may not receive adequate nutrition from their meals, which often results from not consuming a balanced diet.
What Are Feeding Disorders?
Feeding disorders are complex conditions characterized by a variety of challenges related to the consumption of food. These difficulties may manifest as problems with chewing and swallowing, which can pose significant barriers to adequate nutrition. Additionally, individuals with feeding disorders can exhibit strong food aversions, showing an unwillingness to try or accept certain foods. This may lead to restricted diets, commonly seen in picky eaters, where the selection of acceptable foods is notably limited. Feeding disorders can significantly impact an individual’s health, social interactions, and overall quality of life.
Challenges Associated with Feeding Disorders
Feeding concerns can lead to a variety of negative emotions and challenging situations, such as intense emotional reactions or "meltdowns" experienced particularly in public settings like restaurants. These concerns create distress during mealtimes and pose a risk of nutritional deficiencies if individuals cannot consume a balanced diet due to these aversions and anxieties. Moreover, the constant worry surrounding meal times can elevate levels of stress and anxiety, further complicating the relationship between food and eating. At Verse, we understand this cycle can have significant implications for physical health and overall well-being, so addressing feeding concerns with care and understanding is crucial.
Benefits of Feeding Disorder Therapy
Feeding disorder therapy is designed to enhance emotions surrounding meals, guiding your loved one toward achieving a healthy nutritional intake. This tailored approach is customized to meet their unique needs, ultimately significantly improving their overall quality of life. Don't wait for change—embrace this opportunity to enhance well-being and make every meal a step towards a healthier and happier future. Key benefits include:
Improved Eating Skills
Therapy plays a crucial role in helping individuals, especially those with feeding challenges, acquire safe and effective chewing, swallowing, and self-feeding techniques. Through targeted exercises and personalized approaches, therapy not only enhances the physical skills necessary for eating but also addresses the psychological aspects related to mealtimes, ultimately fostering a positive environment.
Reduced Mealtime Anxiety
Therapy plays a crucial role in helping individuals, especially those with feeding challenges, acquire safe and effective chewing, swallowing, and self-feeding techniques. Through targeted exercises and personalized approaches, therapy not only enhances the physical skills necessary for eating but also addresses the psychological aspects related to mealtimes, ultimately fostering a positive environment.
Enhanced Nutritional Intake
Nutrition plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being. By engaging in feeding therapy, you’re taking important steps to enhance your feeding habits. This can guide you toward achieving your health and nutrition goals, supporting your growth and development along the way!
Long-Term Mealtime Success
Feeding therapy provides individuals and families with practical skills, insightful knowledge, and helpful strategies to sustain their progress, address food sensitivities and aversions, and foster a nurturing and welcoming mealtime atmosphere.
Why Choose Verse Therapy for Feeding Disorder Treatment?
Verse Therapy integrates evidence-based practices with innovative techniques, enhancing effectiveness and keeping clients engaged. Verse Therapy's personalized, collaborative approach ensures compassionate and effective care for feeding disorders.
Virtual Convenience
At Verse, our therapists are available in every US time zone and offer flexible scheduling to accommodate your needs. We want to make things easy for you, so you can join us right from the comfort of your own home!
Flexibility
Our wonderful therapists have flexible availability, making it easy to find a time that works perfectly for you and your family.
Accessibility
Virtual speech therapy provides access to skilled therapists regardless of location. This approach ensures high-quality services tailored to individual needs. By utilizing technology, it breaks down barriers, making therapy more accessible for those seeking to improve speech and communication skills. Whether in a remote area or city, quality therapy is just a click away!
Personalized Care
Our speech therapists employ evidence-based therapeutic practices as the foundation of their approach, ensuring that each speech therapy session is customized to meet your specific needs. We emphasize your active involvement throughout the care process, collaborating closely with you to achieve your goals and aspirations. This personalized approach enhances the therapy's effectiveness and empowers you in your journey toward improved communication skills!
What to Expect from Feeding Disorder Therapy
01 Initial Consultation
At Verse, our speech-language pathologists (SLPs) take the time to review your history before developing an assessment plan. During your evaluation, you will discuss your medical history and speech therapy goals. You will also participate in a variety of assessments, both formal and informal. For feeding concerns, your SLP will likely have you engage in oral motor movements, and sensory responses, and observe mealtime behaviors. If time allows, your SLP will review the findings and discuss your speech therapy goals.
02Personalized Treatment Plan
Feeding treatment plans are generated based on your specific objectives, the areas tested during the assessment, and the goals established by your SLP's observations. They are customized for each individual and their unique goals.
03Ongoing Sessions and Monitoring
Once a schedule for your recurring sessions is established, your speech-language pathologist will monitor your progress. This involves documenting daily notes and collecting data to track improvements and areas that may require further attention. Through this process, the SLP can ensure that the therapy is effective and tailored to your evolving needs.
04Transition to Maintenance
Practice is essential for achieving fluency goals. Your SLP will regularly suggest strategies and methods for practicing outside of your speech therapy sessions.
Meet Our Feeding Specialists
Amy Ciraulo
Amy has 10 years of experience working as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Throughout those years, she has been able to spend time in various settings, which include home health, outpatient clinics, private practice clinics, inpatient rehab, skilled nursing, and schools. Amy has had the opportunity to work with individuals from the age of 9 months to 104 years to address a wide range of diagnoses. She has received additional specialized training in sensory integration, feeding disorders, and orofacial myofunctional disorders. Amy believes in looking at the full picture when meeting new clients to provide the best possible individualized therapy to help them achieve their goals!
**My Approach To Speech Therapy**
I believe that each client needs to be evaluated as a blank canvas. I like to get a full history of development, milestones, and characteristics including strengths/weaknesses that make the client unique. I then find out what the client and family members value and want to address in the therapy sessions to build a fully individualized treatment plan. Then on to the actual therapy. Therapy should be fun! We will be working on potentially challenging things to meet the goals, and need to have that foundation of trust and enjoyment to encourage generalization and carryover of skills learned in the therapy session. Flexibility is a must! I routinely discuss sessions with the client and family to make sure that goal-centered activities are appropriate, effective, and enjoyable for all involved.
**What A Session Looks Like With Amy**
I typically start my sessions reviewing how things are progressing outside of the therapy sessions in case I need to adjust or modify anything. I then jump right in to the activities that were planned for the day. I typically choose between 3-5 different activities that target the established goals through play. Towards the end of the session, I will provide the client and family with updates to their home exercise program while answering questions that came up.
**Fun Facts About Amy**
I am a total book worm. I love all genres, but my favorite is a good thriller! Also, what a good book needs is a steaming mug of coffee and a cozy blanket! When I am not working, that it where you’ll most likely find me! I also have an amazing husband and two adorable children that I spend my free time with as well. We frequent the library, the zoo, the park, or we make pallets in the living room for movie night picnics!
Christine Corl
Christine Corl has over 19 years of experience working with a wide range of clients and their families in the areas of speech, language, and swallowing disorders. Christine is a certified neonatal therapist and specializes in the area of pediatric feeding and swallowing as well as early childhood development. Beyond pediatrics, Christine has worked with adult clients in both hospital and clinic settings. Christine’s practice has been shaped by her experience working at such facilities as the University of Chicago Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center. Christine is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), holds a Bachelors of Science from James Madison University, and a Masters of Science from Gallaudet University. She is proficient in basic sign language. When Christine isn’t working she loves spending time with her daughter, traveling, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
**My Approach to Therapy**
Speech Therapy focuses on creating a supportive and engaging environment tailored to each individual’s goals. My approach integrates evidence-based techniques with creativity to make therapy effective, enjoyable, and client-centered.
**What a Session Looks Like With Christine**
I provide virtual speech therapy sessions where we address your personal goals by building skills through targeted activities. Sessions are structured yet flexible, progressing while adapting to the client’s unique goals and interests.
Nicole Kain
Nicole has over 12 years of experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist, providing services to patients and clients of all ages across a wide range of clinical settings, including hospitals, acute rehabilitation, outpatient/private practice, schools, skilled nursing and long-term care, and home health. She is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and holds additional certifications as a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS) from the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), an ADHD-Rehabilitation Services Provider from Evergreen Certifications, and a Certified Lingraphica Technology Specialist from Lingraphica. She earned a B.A. in Curricular Studies at Randolph-Macon Woman's College and an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology at James Madison University. Throughout her career, she has worked with a broad spectrum of diagnoses and disorders, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, neurological and cognitive disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, dysphagia and swallowing/feeding disorders, voice disorders and gender-affirming voice treatment, stuttering, and more.
**My Approach To Speech Therapy**
I see speech therapy as a team effort where we work together to figure out your unique goals, strengths, and challenges. My focus is to help you build strategies and skills you feel confident using in your everyday life, so progress keeps going even after our sessions. With an evidence-based, affirming, and holistic approach, I want you to feel supported, understood, and ready to succeed.
**What A Session Looks Like With Nicole**
In each session, we start by discussing how your communication, cognitive, or swallowing challenges have shown up in your daily life—what’s working well and what might need more attention. From there, we dive into activities, education, and strategies tailored to your goals. Sessions are structured but flexible, adapting to your progress and preferences. I’ll always make sure you leave with practical tools and next steps to keep moving forward between sessions.
**Fun Facts About Nicole**
When I’m not working, I love spending time with my two dogs and two cats, reading, running, and foraging for mushrooms. I’m also a coach for Girls on the Run and serve on the board of a nonprofit that supports cultural exchange and education in El Salvador.
Take the First Step Toward Better Feeding Habits
Dealing with a fluency disorder can be daunting and delicate and may lead to feelings of uncertainty. At Verse, we are here to help you overcome your feeding challenges. Schedule a free intake consultation with one of our specialists to embark on your journey today!
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