Helping Picky Eaters and Kids With Feeding Difficulties
At Allied Therapy, we support children who find eating hard. Often they are picky eaters, struggle with textures, or have medical or sensory differences. Our team offers feeding assessment for children across Nova Scotia, in-home, in-clinic, and online. We make mealtimes less stressful and more successful for the whole family.
Who We Help
Our pediatric feeding assessment and therapy supports:
Children who are very selective or avoid entire food groups
Babies who struggle with bottle or breast feeding
Toddlers who gag, cough, or spit out foods
Kids with trouble chewing or swallowing
Families who are frustrated, worried, or tired of mealtime battles
Our Approach to Feeding Therapy
Assessment: Some children need extra support with feeding skill development. The goal of this assessment is to evaluate your child’s current skill, and support you in helping your child progress along their feeding journey.
A feeding assessment for your child will include:
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A case history to learn more about your child’s overall development, including feeding, any goals you have regarding feeding, and any relevant medical history
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A functional oral-mechanism exam appropriate for the child’s developmental level will be completed with a speech-language pathologist.
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A feeding observation will occur in-person or virtually to assess each child’s feeding skill. This will include observation of a variety of textures. For this, please bring all typical foods your child eats at home. Changes to positioning, and techniques such as pacing of eating, size of bites or cutlery, and more can be tried during the assessment to determine if there is a positive impact on the child’s feeding skill development.
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A review of results/next steps will be provided to every patient, both verbally and in writing. This will include any recommendations to support feeding skill development.
Collaborative Support
Our feeding therapy often includes input from speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and behaviour consultants because eating is about more than just food.
Common Goals and Outcomes
Increased variety of foods accepted
Better chewing, swallowing, and drinking skills
Healthier weight gain or growth
More peaceful and enjoyable mealtimes
Less anxiety and fewer meltdowns at meals
Worried About Your Child’s Eating? We Can Help.
Let’s make mealtimes easier and more nourishing for your family.
902-580-1060
Monday to Friday 8:00-4:00
Serving Halifax and all of Nova Scotia in-person or virtually