Feeding Therapy

What is Feeding Therapy?

Food selectivity (picky eating): A child may limit their diet to only a small number of foods and avoid others.
Difficulty with textures: Some children may have heightened sensitivity to textures or consistency, such as avoiding pureed, chunky, or solid foods.
Oral motor difficulties: Children might struggle with chewing, swallowing, or moving food in their mouths, which can impact their ability to eat certain foods.
Feeding-related behavior: Some children experience anxiety or distress around mealtime, including refusal to eat, gagging, or becoming upset at the sight or smell of certain foods.

Reduced mealtime stress: By breaking down the process of food introduction into small, manageable steps, the SOS approach minimizes the pressure children may feel and reduces anxiety around mealtimes.
Gradual desensitization: Children with sensory sensitivities can gradually learn to tolerate and accept a wider variety of foods without feeling overwhelmed.
Increased food variety: Over time, the child is exposed to a greater variety of textures, tastes, and types of food, helping them to expand their diet.
Improved oral-motor skills: Strengthening the muscles involved in chewing and swallowing can help children with physical feeding difficulties.
Empowerment for children: Children are encouraged to take part in their food journey in a non-threatening way, which can increase their confidence and willingness to try new foods.
Family empowerment: Parents are given tools and strategies to use at home, helping them manage mealtime struggles and support their child’s progress.

The AEIOU Approach provides a comprehensive, multi-dimensional strategy for addressing feeding difficulties.

The acronym AEIOU stands for A, E, I, O, and U, each representing a key component of the feeding therapy process:

Some key benefits include:

Holistic treatment: By addressing emotional, environmental, sensory, motor, and educational factors, the AEIOU approach ensures that all aspects of a child’s feeding difficulties are considered.
Gradual progress: The approach recognizes that feeding difficulties cannot be solved overnight and encourages small, incremental steps toward improvement.
Family involvement: By educating and involving families, the AEIOU approach empowers caregivers to support their child’s progress consistently at home.
Reduced mealtime stress: Through the focus on creating positive mealtime experiences, the approach can help reduce anxiety and negative associations with food.
Personalized interventions: The approach can be tailored to meet the specific needs and challenges of each child, ensuring that the therapy is effective for different types of feeding difficulties.