You will know that your child may benefit from feeding therapy if he or she …
- Was diagnosed by a physician with any of the following conditions
- Failure to thrive
- Dysphagia
- Cerebral Palsy
- Down Syndrome
- Metabolic Conditions
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Cleft Lip and/or Palate
- Heart Conditions
- Chromosomal Disorders
- Was born prematurely or spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit after birth (NICU)
- Has or has had a feeding tube
- Is not gaining weight
- Cries while drinking
- Will not drink from a bottle
- Arches his or her back or cries while drinking from a bottle
- Takes a long time to drink a bottle or eat
- Is so difficult to feed that you don’t look forward to feeding them or are not comfortable leaving them with a babysitter, grandparent, etc.
- Falls asleep while eating
- Coughs, chokes or gags when eating or drinking
- Holds food in their mouth and does not swallow it
- Refuses specific types/textures of foods (e.g., meats, puree- applesauce, yogurt)