Feeding Therapy
Are you concerned about your child’s feeding?
It can be so frustrating when your child struggles with eating enough food, cannot eat a variety of foods, or chew food well enough to swallow it safely. Feeding difficulties can take a toll on you, your child, and your whole family, as meals become a source of stress.
I can help!
My approach to feeding therapy
I focus on your child's needs, to help them feel successful and happy at mealtimes.
I consult and coordinate with other professionals, as appropriate, to assure optimal care and results.
I provide home consults, as needed, to ensure carryover of skills into your home and family routine.
I provide a comprehensive approach to improve feeding skills including evaluation/therapy to address any medical, motor, sensory, behavioral and environmental issues impacting your child’s eating.
I work respectfully with parents to understand and address your concerns regarding your child’s eating, and to help you feel confident in your ability to help your child eat.
My Training and Experience
I completed an intensive 8-week training program at Columbia University and trained in the TR-eat® and CAN-EAT approaches as well as Beckman Oral Motor techniques. I have also attended a wide variety of other specialized courses provided by leaders in the field, giving me the tools to adapt therapy techniques to each individual child's needs.
Additionally, I have worked in coordination with many physicians, nurses, dieticians, occupational and physical therapists, other feeding therapists and with intensive in-patient feeding programs.
Most importantly, I have many years of experience working as a team with families to help their children learn to eat and enjoy a wider variety of foods.
Does my child need feeding therapy?
Your child may need feeding therapy if you see:
Delays in feeding milestones.
Weight loss or lack of weight gain.
Persistent gagging.
Irritability surrounding meals.
Severe behavior problems related to feeding.
Food refusal or extreme selectivity about types of foods eaten.
Kind Words
“Lynn has been an amazing help and comfort in working with Sophie and me. We both love to work with her. She is incredibly warm, fun and easy to talk to. Feeding can be very emotional and Lynn is so skilled at knowing just the right way to work with parents and kids to find a calm, sensible and effective approach to working through the issues. I’ve felt that she was therapy for both Sophie and me.
The sessions have been fun and positive for both of us. Lynn’s techniques are also very effective, and she is incredibly knowledgeable. She effectively diagnosed my child’s problem and implemented therapy strategies that have worked. Sophie went from eating baby food and crackers only, to a normal toddler diet now. I can’t imagine where we would be without Lynn. She has solved a seemingly insurmountable issue for my child in a positive, effective way. I will never forget everything that she has done for us and I will always be grateful.”
“... we have always counted ourselves very fortunate to be able to work with Lynn as his speech therapist for two main reasons.
The first is that Lynn really works with us as a team and keeps in mind what is happening with our whole family and Alex’s overall health at the same time. We are able to accomplish so much more when her activities and our “homework” are tailored to our up-to-date capabilities and goals.
The second is that Lynn can offer feeding therapy as well as language and communication and will adapt to the needs of your child. Alex’s priority need in the first few years was feeding and finding appropriate nutritional and GI care. Lynn is unique in that she is very knowledgeable about care for children with feeding problems and she is well connected to a network of other experts who can provide consultation if necessary. We have accomplished so much with Alex’s feeding and Lynn has been instrumental in getting us there...”
“I have three children and noticed by 10 months that my son Will was not eating the same foods at the same rate that my first two had. He seemed to gag easily and could only eat very soft foods. Lynn was able to turn that around in only a few visits, her techniques transformed my little guy into an excellent eater. Lynn noticed that he was swallowing and sucking his food and not chewing. Her ideas were easy to follow and implement at home. I am now amazed at his range of food options.”
“Our son was 13 months old and a very reluctant eater when we began seeing Lynn for feeding therapy. He had difficulty swallowing and, given negative experiences with food, was distrustful of solid foods. Lynn is a patient and kind therapist and the atmosphere of her home is calm and relaxing. Our son was very comfortable with her and made great progress during our sessions. Lynn taught us techniques to encourage our son to chew and helped us set a plan on how and when to introduce new foods and textures. We always felt more confident and encouraged after our sessions and are happy to report our son is now an excellent eater. I couldn’t recommend Lynn enough!”