Feeding Therapy

Mealtimes should be happy times; and we at Olea Pediatric Therapy want to help you achieve that goal.

We are here to give you the tools to improve your family’s experience at the dinner table. Making mealtimes a source of happiness for the family - not a stressor - is our goal.

Feeding Therapy services can help your child:

  • Try new foods

  • Eat a variety of foods from all food groups

  • Chew, manipulate and swallow their food safely

  • Drink from a straw and cup

  • Become less anxious around food and mealtimes

  • Gain weight

Expanding a child’s diet can be a hard, seemingly impossible task, at times.

We believe in adapting one step at a time. Changing one variable - such as color, texture, shape, or size - of a preferred food item helps to ensure this change is achievable . At Olea, we slowly integrate food with play - child led ‘taste tests’ are a fun example of this. Pressuring a child to eat new foods will likely be counteractive to our goals. Letting a child explore food on their own will help them develop trust with new foods - ultimately growing their confidence during mealtimes. That is our priority with feeding therapy.

What Feeding Therapy at Olea Pediatric Therapy looks like:

  • Familiarizing with different textures, colors, and flavors of food

  • Introducing new foods through play

  • Preparing food

  • Sitting at the table

  • Using utensils appropriately

  • Cleaning your face after eating

  • Cleaning up after meal time

Training and Expertise

At Olea Therapy our feeding therapists are trained in a variety of oral motor, sensory and feeding approaches including M.O.R.E., reflex integration, SOS, and the Beckman oral motor program.