Feeding issues can have many underlying causes. Our Occupational Therapists evaluate feeding difficulties by looking at the whole person. Many areas are addressed during feeding treatment including: postural control (the ability to maintain a safe position for eating), oral motor skills (the ability to safely and adequately bite, chew and swallow food), sensory processing (the ability to feel food in the mouth and tolerate different textures, temperatures, flavors of food), utensil use, mealtime behaviors, and the mealtime environment (the setting, seating and the child-caregiver interaction during feeding).
Types of Eaters:
- Typical: likes eating, interested in food, feels good about eating, has preferences but eats a variety of foods
- Picky Eater: certain limitations and aversions to foods, eat enough of a different foods to maintain a fairly healthy diet
- Problem Feeder: 10-15 foods or less, refuses 1 or more food groups, may eat only one color or texture, severe adverse reaction (cry, tantrum, gag, vomit), food jags (insist a certain food be present at every meal & always prepared in same way and in same container)
