Therapeutic Services
Feeding therapy
Feeding therapy provides individualized plans, strategies, and tools to aid children in:
Expanding their repertoire of accepted foods.
Improving bottle or breastfeeding safety and efficiency.
Transition into eating solids from breast/bottle feeding or purées.
Improving motor abilities to successfully chew, manage food within the mouth, and swallow.
Decrease anxiety/stress around new foods.
Advance diet textures for children on IDDSI diets or who have sensory aversions to certain textures.
Wean from thickened feeds and tube feeds.
Increase intake for optimal growth and nutrition.
Pace when overstuffing or gagging is present.
Help to build or work with your existing team, which may include: physical therapists, occupational therapists, certified lactation consultants, GI doctors, nutritionists, teachers, siblings, grandparents, and more.
Tube Weaning
When your child is discharged from the hospital on tube feeding, you deserve to have clear guidance, including:
An outline of what the current goal for tube feeding is.
Steps for attaining maintenance of that goal.
A clear plan for tube weaning once the initial goal and maintence have been met, with a qualified feeding team to assist you along the way.
As your child’s feeding therapist my part on this team may look like: providing assessment of your child’s motor and sensory feeding skills, provide strategies to improve safety, reduce oral aversions and increase comfort around new foods, help adapt the schedule to improve huger and satiety cues, modify textures, teach chewing and drinking skills, strengthen the swallow if needed, assess for tethered oral tissues, and help guide you to other team members who may be a vital part of your child’s feeding profile.
Serving cities:
Redmond
Kirkland
Monroe
Snohomish
Woodinville
Duvall
Carnation
Fall City
In clinic options at First Step Pediatric Therapy (Kirkland) and Monroe Speech and Language Center (Monroe)
All cities via teletherapy
In Network with Premera and Regence BCBS plans. HSA/FSA eligible. Private pay options.
Sessions
Initial evaluation
In-person appointment designed to gather information about your child’s strengths and needs. We will set goals and discuss therapy plans as a team. A written report will be supplied to you following this appointment.
60 mins | 90 mins
In-person or virtual appointments available. Sessions will be individualized to your child’s unique eating needs: supporting efficient breast/bottle feeding, transitioning to solids, building a sensory ladder to explore new flavors, textures, and food groups, working on strengthening the jaw and advancing chewing patterns, creating new recipes your whole family can enjoy together. Exercises and strategies you can use throughout the rest of the week will be provided with each appointment.
45 mins | 60 mins
Feeding therapy
Consultative calls
Virtual appointment to help you, or others on your team, to problem solve current struggles. Strategies, tools, and resources will be provided to you on this call.
20+ mins
SLP mentorship
In person and virtual collaboration. Receive one-on-one guidance specialized to your caseload as well as a google drive full of resources to grow your practice as a feeding therapist. Mentorships offered to clinical fellows, graduate clinicians, and experienced SLPs alike.
60 mins