Feeding & Swallowing Therapy
Making Mealtimes Happier, One Step at a Time
At Daffodils Child Development Centre, we support infants and children who experience food refusal, restricted food preferences, sensory sensitivities, or difficulties with chewing and swallowing.Through personalised, responsive therapy, we help children develop feeding skills, explore food at their own pace, and enjoy more positive mealtimes. We also guide parents with practical strategies to make meals less stressful at home.
How Can Feeding Therapy Help Your Child?
Explore Food with Confidence
Encourage curiosity about different foods, tastes, and textures through playful, pressure-free experiences.Develop Feeding Skills
Support age-appropriate biting, chewing, drinking, and management of different food textures.Make Mealtimes Less Stressful
Build predictable routines, recognise your child’s feeding cues, and reduce mealtime struggles.Support Safe and Comfortable Feeding
Identify feeding and swallowing difficulties and determine when further clinical or medical assessment is needed.When Should You Seek Support?
Consider a feeding assessment if your child:
- Refuses the breast or bottle, struggles with latching, or tires during feeds.
- Eats a very limited variety of foods or avoids entire food groups.
- Gags, coughs, or vomits during meals.
- Has difficulty chewing or managing different food textures.
- Becomes distressed around food or relies on rigid mealtime routines.
- Has feeding difficulties affecting nutrition, growth, or hydration.
Important Persistent coughing or choking during feeds, recurrent chest infections, poor growth, or signs of dehydration require prompt medical evaluation. Breathing difficulties or severe choking require emergency care.
Our Feeding Therapy Approach
Every child’s feeding needs are different. Following an assessment, we create an individualised plan based on your child’s feeding skills, sensory responses, food preferences, and family needs.
Depending on your child’s needs, therapists may incorporate evidence-based approaches like:
- Infant-Driven Feeding (IDF)
- SOFFI (Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants)
- Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS)
Therapy may include:
- Playful, pressure-free food exploration.
- Gradual introduction of new foods and textures.
- Development of appropriate feeding skills.
- Parent coaching and practical mealtime strategies.
Who Can Benefit from Feeding Therapy?
We support children experiencing:
- Picky Eating and Food Selectivity
- Sensory-Based Feeding Difficulties and Oral Aversion
- Chewing and Swallowing Difficulties
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Developmental Disabilities
- Neurological and Oral-Motor Difficulties
- ARFID and Other Restrictive Eating Difficulties
- Medical or Structural Conditions affecting feeding, including reflux and cleft lip or palate.
Depending on your child’s needs, we collaborate with occupational therapists, psychologists, dietitians, paediatricians, and other relevant specialists.
Free Parent Resource
Feeding and Swallowing Milestones Guide
Learn about age-related feeding skills and signs that may indicate your child needs additional support.Let’s Make Mealtimes More Positive
If feeding has become stressful or you are concerned about your child’s eating, we are here to understand your concerns and help you find a way forward.
Together, let’s help your child develop feeding skills, feel more comfortable around food, and enjoy more positive mealtimes.