What We Treat
We support children ages 18 months through the teenage years who experience feeding difficulties. Our feeding therapists treat:
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Picky Eating and Problem Feeding: Children who refuse most foods, limit themselves to a very small range, or show extreme reactions to new foods.
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Sensory Sensitivities: Helping children stay calm and regulated with new textures, smells, and food experiences.
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Oral Motor Skills and Coordination: Improving strength and movement for chewing, swallowing, and overall feeding safety.
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Food Exploration and Expansion: Gently guiding children from familiar foods to new ones through playful, low-pressure exposure using tenets of the SOS Approach to Feeding.
Feeding Evaluations
During a feeding evaluation, your feeding therapist will look at the full picture by watching your child during the eating process. The evaluation will look at how they sit, their responses to different foods, and signs of stress, discomfort, or fatigue during meals. We also assess oral motor skills, breathing patterns, saliva management, and swallowing.
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The purpose of a feeding evaluation is to help us understand your child’s current eating habits, nutritional intake, and texture sensitivities so we can build a thoughtful plan of care.
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After the evaluation, we review our recommendations with you and talk through next steps. We determine whether your child is a candidate for feeding therapy at Strive to Thrive. If needed, we will also make referrals to other providers such as gastroenterologists, ENTs, or dietitians so your child has the right support in place.
Our Approach to Feeding Therapy
We want to understand the why behind the feeding challenges. We look at sensory needs, movement, coordination, posture, and collaborate with other professionals to best support your child.
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Our goal is to help children approach food with courage and curiosity, building lasting skills for healthy, positive eating and sufficient nutrition. We provide individualized one-to-one feeding therapy with therapists specially trained in The Get Permission Approach.
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The Get Permission Approach is a caring, child-led method that helps children feel safe, curious, and respected around food. Our feeding therapists follow your child's cues, building trust, comfort, and readiness at their own pace.
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This approach involves playful exploration and progressive food introduction, where children learn to look, smell, touch, and eventually taste foods when they feel ready.
What to Expect
Families bring a variety of foods, including safe "go-to" options, preferred foods, and a few new or less familiar choices. This allows your feeding therapist to observe comfort, skills, and reactions across different experiences.
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Each feeding therapy session begins with a brief check-in to understand how things have been going at home. Then your feeding therapist will guide your child through individualized feeding activities that may include:
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Gentle exploration bridging from safe and preferred foods to new foods
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Practice with chewing and swallowing skills
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Gradual progression to help your child explore foods that match in color, texture, size, or smell to make new foods feel more familiar.
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Strategies to reduce stress or overwhelm at the table.
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Every step is grounded in evidence-based approaches while honoring your child's pace, cues, and comfort. Parents are included throughout the process, learning language, routines, and carryover strategies to support progress at home.