Infant & Child Feeding Therapy

Feeding your infant is the most important task you have as a parent.  Breastfeeding an infant who cannot latch properly or who is not gaining weight can lead to fear and parental stress!   With the proper support, all mothers and infants can enjoy the breastfeeding experience. 

According to the World Health Organization, "Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breastmilk provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one third during the second year of life." 

Our Infant Feeding Therapy Team of Early Intervention Credentialed Speech-Language Pathologists assess and treat breastfeeding in pre-term and term infants:

• Gulping / choking / clicking sounds during feeding
• Pain during feedings
• Structural differences
• Oral motor strength
• Increasing volume of milk intake
• Feeding longer than 30 min.
• Positioning
• Kangaroo care 
• Breastfeeding multiples

Infant feeding struggles can lead to poor weight gain and cause stress for their caregivers. Our Infant Feeding Therapy Team of Speech-Language Pathologists work with the infant AND parents / caregivers. 

Our Infant Feeding Therapy Team consists of SOFFI® (Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants) Certified and Early Intervention Credentialed Speech-Language Pathologists.  Our team is trained to assist babies from NICU to Early Intervention (EI) and beyond.

We support:

• Transitioning from tube to bottle or solids
• Bottle feeding
• Breastfeeding
• Transitioning to purees and solids​

The SOFFI approach recognizes homeostasis, the ability to maintain internal regulation in the face of increasing challenges and demands, as the foundation for feeding.  Internal regulation is the key to successful feeding.  The focus is on increasing pleasurable feeding experiences for the infant and the caregiver.  Our Infant Feeding Therapy Team assesses all systems which affect infant feeding, including physiologic, neurologic, sensory, oral motor, motor, behavioral state, interaction with caregivers.

For some children, mealtimes lead to adverse reactions, choking and/or gagging.  Parents may make a different meal for one child while the family is eating another meal. Some children can not at the table with family during meals because of their strong sensory experience with the smells and sights of foods. 

An infant, toddler or child who cries and protests during feeding, or who has difficulty transitioning to purees, cup drinking, or solid foods after 15  months of age, may be helped by early therapeutic intervention. 

Our Child Feeding Therapy Team of Licensed Speech-Language Pathologists have been trained in the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding.  This approach is a developmental program which recognizes that feeding is a complex sensory experience.  This approach uses intrinsic motivation to build skills for eating and it empowers children to learn how to problem solve while eating.  Our team encourages the child and caregivers to interact with food in a playful, enjoyable manner. The SOS approach increases the child’s comfort with interacting with food by exploring the of foods, including the color, shape, texture, smell, taste and consistency. 

The SOS approach uses Systematic Desensitization to teach a child new skills in a way which respects their readiness to learn.   Caregiver involvement is an essential part of the SOS approach. Parents are encouraged to be directly involved in therapy sessions. 
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