Pediatric Feeding Therapy in Atlanta
Helping Children Build Confidence, Comfort, and Joy Around Mealtimes
Mealtimes are about so much more than nutrition. They are opportunities for connection, communication, exploration, and family routines. When a child has difficulty eating, those moments can quickly become stressful for both children and caregivers.
At Hart Therapy Services, we provide pediatric feeding therapy that is child-led, family-centered, and neurodiversity-affirming. We support children experiencing feeding and swallowing challenges by looking beyond the foods they eat to understand the whole child—their communication, sensory preferences, oral motor skills, medical history, and family routines.
Our clinic proudly serves families throughout Atlanta, Decatur, Candler Park, Virginia Highland, East Atlanta Village, and surrounding communities.
What Is Pediatric Feeding Therapy?
Pediatric feeding therapy helps children who have difficulty eating, drinking, chewing, swallowing, or participating comfortably in mealtimes.
Feeding is one of the most complex developmental skills children learn. Successful eating requires coordination between oral motor skills, sensory processing, communication, regulation, posture, medical health, and family routines.
When one or more of these areas is difficult, mealtimes can become frustrating, overwhelming, or exhausting for everyone involved.
Our goal is not simply to help children eat more foods. We work toward creating positive mealtime experiences that support safe eating, greater food variety, increased independence, and joyful family interactions.
Signs Your Child May Benefit from Feeding Therapy
Your child may benefit from a feeding evaluation if they:
Eat fewer than 20–30 foods
Refuse entire food groups
Become upset or anxious when new foods are offered
Prefer only certain textures, temperatures, brands, or colors of food
Frequently gag, cough, or choke while eating
Have difficulty chewing or moving food in their mouth
Pocket food in their cheeks
Take a very long time to finish meals
Experience frequent mealtime meltdowns
Have difficulty transitioning from purees to table foods
Have concerns with weight gain or nutritional variety
Are autistic or have developmental differences that impact feeding
Use AAC or have communication differences that affect mealtime participation
Every child is different. A feeding evaluation helps us understand why eating is difficult so we can develop meaningful, individualized supports.
Feeding Challenges Can Have Many Causes
Children may experience feeding difficulties for many different reasons, and often several factors work together.
Independent Eating
Feeding
Sensory Differences
Some children experience foods differently than others. Certain textures, smells, temperatures, or appearances may feel overwhelming, while others seek stronger sensory experiences.
Oral Motor Development
Eating requires coordinated movements of the lips, tongue, jaw, cheeks, and breathing. Difficulty chewing, biting, drinking, or managing food safely can make eating challenging.
Medical Factors
Reflux, allergies, gastrointestinal concerns, prematurity, or other medical conditions may influence feeding development.
Communication
Communication plays an important role during meals. Children communicate hunger, fullness, preferences, discomfort, requests, and social interactions throughout mealtime.
Children who use AAC, are gestalt language processors, or have expressive language differences may benefit from additional supports that make mealtimes more successful and enjoyable.
Emotional Experiences
Past experiences with choking, illness, medical procedures, or stressful mealtimes can influence how children feel about eating.
Understanding the whole picture helps us create therapy that is individualized and meaningful.
Our Feeding Therapy Philosophy
There is no single approach that works for every child.
Rather than following one feeding program, we integrate principles from multiple evidence-informed approaches while considering your child's unique strengths, communication style, sensory profile, oral motor skills, developmental level, medical history, and your family's priorities.
We believe feeding therapy should help children feel safe, respected, and successful.
Our therapy focuses on:
Building trust before expecting change
Following the child's pace
Respecting autonomy and body awareness
Supporting positive relationships with food
Creating meaningful opportunities for exploration
Reducing stress for the entire family
Helping children communicate throughout mealtimes
Celebrating progress in all forms—not just the number of foods eaten
Our goal is to build lifelong confidence around food, not simply increase food acceptance during therapy sessions.
Why Families Choose Hart Therapy Services
Our clinicians have advanced training in pediatric feeding and swallowing and use evidence-informed, family-centered approaches to create individualized treatment plans.
Our specialized training includes:
CAN-EAT®, a comprehensive pediatric approach to feeding and swallowing assessment and intervention
AEIOU® (Acceptance, Exposure, Independence, Observation, and Understanding), an integrated approach addressing sensory, oral motor, biomedical, communication, and environmental factors influencing feeding
Get Permission™, a relationship-based approach that emphasizes child autonomy, food exploration, and reducing pressure around eating
TalkTools® Feeding Therapy: A Sensory-Motor Approach by Lori Overland, supporting oral motor skill development for safe and efficient feeding
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Infancy: Assessment and Management, providing advanced knowledge in evaluating and treating feeding and swallowing challenges in infants and young children
By combining these specialized approaches with our play-based, neurodiversity-affirming philosophy, we develop individualized therapy plans that meet children where they are while supporting meaningful, lasting progress.
What Does Feeding Therapy Look Like?
No two children have the same feeding journey, so every therapy plan is individualized.
Sessions may include:
Food Exploration: Children are encouraged to interact with foods through looking, smelling, touching, licking, tasting, or eating—always at a pace that feels safe and supportive.
Oral Motor Skill Development: When appropriate, therapy targets chewing, biting, tongue movement, lip closure, cup drinking, straw drinking, and other skills that support safe and efficient eating.
Sensory Support: Activities help children gradually become more comfortable with different textures, temperatures, smells, and appearances of food.
Communication During Mealtimes: Communication is a key part of feeding. We help children express preferences, request foods, communicate hunger and fullness, make choices, comment on foods, and participate socially during meals using spoken language, AAC, gestures, or other communication methods.
Parent Coaching: Parents are an essential part of successful feeding therapy.
We provide practical strategies that fit naturally into your family's routines so that progress continues beyond the therapy room.
What Happens During a Feeding Evaluation?
A comprehensive feeding evaluation helps us understand your child's unique feeding profile.
Your evaluation may include discussion of:
Medical and developmental history
Current eating habits
Food preferences and aversions
Oral motor skills
Sensory processing
Communication skills
Mealtime routines
Parent concerns and goals
Following the evaluation, we provide individualized recommendations and discuss whether ongoing feeding therapy may be beneficial.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Many children go through phases of selective eating. However, if your child's diet continues to become more limited, mealtimes are consistently stressful, or feeding affects nutrition or family routines, a feeding evaluation may be helpful.
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Picky eating is common during development and often improves with time. Pediatric feeding disorders involve ongoing challenges that affect a child's ability to eat safely, efficiently, or with adequate variety and often benefit from specialized intervention.
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Yes. Therapy focuses on understanding why eating is difficult while supporting gradual food exploration, reducing mealtime stress, and increasing confidence around food.
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Never.
We use child-led, relationship-based approaches that respect each child's autonomy. Building trust around food creates more meaningful and lasting progress than pressure or coercion.
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Many autistic children experience sensory, motor, or communication differences that affect eating. We provide neurodiversity-affirming therapy that respects each child's unique way of experiencing food and communication.
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Yes. Parents and caregivers are one of the most important parts of successful feeding therapy. We partner with families throughout the therapy process and provide practical strategies that support positive mealtime experiences at home.
Schedule a Consultation
If you're concerned about your child's eating, drinking, or mealtime experiences, we're here to help.
At Hart Therapy Services, we provide compassionate, evidence-informed pediatric feeding therapy that supports the whole child—not just the foods they eat.
Whether your child is struggling with food variety, oral motor skills, sensory differences, swallowing, or communication during meals, we'll work alongside your family to create a treatment plan that supports meaningful progress and more enjoyable mealtimes.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn whether a feeding evaluation is the right next step for your child.
