When a child eats a very limited range of foods or struggles with textures, mealtimes can quickly become stressful. Support can help create more positive, flexible, and successful eating experiences over time.

What are feeding difficulties?

Feeding therapy supports children who have difficulty eating a variety of foods, managing textures, or maintaining a balanced diet.

Feeding challenges can affect:

• Nutrition and growth

• Energy levels and overall health

• Family routines and mealtime dynamics

Therapy focuses on helping children feel safe, supported, and successful with food.

Signs your child may need support

• Eating fewer than ~20 different foods

• Avoiding certain textures, temperatures, or food groups

• Frequent gagging, coughing, or choking during meals

• Poor weight gain or unexpected weight loss

• Ongoing distress, refusal, or anxiety at mealtime

• Trouble transitioning to purees by ~10 months

• Difficulty eating table foods by ~12 months

• Not drinking from a cup by ~16 months

What feeding therapy looks like

• Child-led, supportive approach that builds trust

• Gradual exposure to new foods and textures

• Sensory exploration (touching, smelling, tasting foods)

• Building oral motor skills for chewing and swallowing

• Creating positive, low-pressure mealtime experiences

• Parent coaching with practical strategies for home

• Progress in feeding therapy often happens gradually, with a focus on building comfort and trust first.

When to reach out

• Mealtimes feel stressful or challenging

• Your child eats a very limited range of foods

• Concerns about nutrition, growth, or variety

• You’re unsure how to expand your child’s diet

👉 Support can help make mealtimes more positive and successful.

Serving families in Portland, Oregon

Feeding therapy services for infants, toddlers, and children in Portland and surrounding areas.