Feeding
Fostering enjoyable and rewarding mealtime relationships for the whole family.
Feeding challenges in children and babies is an area of great stress for parents as well as their child. Our goal is to educate and inspire the family to be able to understand and support their child’s feeding difficulties, to foster enjoyable and rewarding mealtime relationships for the whole family.
Our team includes speech pathologists who are specifically trained and experienced in assessing and managing a range of feeding problems in infants and children from birth to 18 years, including training in:
- Bobath Therapy
- NIDCAP training (Newborn Individualised Developmental Care and Assessment Program framework)
- Paediatric FEES (Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing)
- Paediatric VFSS (Video fluoroscopic swallow study)
- SOS approach to feeding.

What We Do
Feeding problems can be attributed to a range of factors:






Assessment
By dynamic assessment, Inner West Paediatrics therapists seek to understand the underlying causes and to pinpoint any areas that may be contributing to feeding or swallowing challenges. A specific treatment plan is then developed in collaboration with the family, and implemented in partnership with all the important people in a child’s life with the aim to develop practical and beneficial feeding plans and strategies to foster positive, enjoyable and rewarding mealtimes and feeding experiences.
Assessment will closely look at the child’s birth, medical and developmental history, oral anatomy and movement of the lips, jaw, tongue and palate, feeding experiences and history, feeding and swallowing skills, diet and potential feeding options.
Management options will be explored with the family with the aim to develop practical and beneficial feeding plans and techniques that will foster safe, effective, skill building and independent feeding for the child and family.
Areas we can support you for successful feeding
Inner West Paediatrics feeding therapists have experience in infant and toddler feeding problems (0-3 years), as well as eating and swallowing difficulties in preschool and school-age children (3-12 years).
Some of the feeding problems that we work with include:
- Difficulties with breastfeeding or bottle feeding
- Sucking, swallowing or breathing difficulties during feeding
- Coughing, choking or gagging on fluid or solid foods
- Poor endurance & fatigue during breast or bottle feeding
- Difficulty transitioning to solids, lumps or finger foods
- Chewing or oral motor problems
- Fussy, picky, anxious or selective eating
- Feed refusal or distress with feeding and mealtimes
- Oral aversions or feeding aversions
- Tube feeding and tube dependency
- Stressful mealtimes & mealtime battles

Areas of Specific Experience
Breast feeding
Attachment problems
Long/ineffective feeds
Sucking difficulties
Poor weight gain
Poor breast drainage and mastitis
Sore/cracked nipples
Coughing/gagging during feeds
Infant/parental distress at feed times
The need to compliment breast feeds with bottle feeding
Bottle feeding
Reduced co-ordination of sucking and swallowing
Poor intake
Reduced efficiency
Loss of fluid during feeding
Coughing/gagging/choking
Poor weight gain
Bottle refusal
Drinking
Coughing/gagging
Liquid loss Difficulty with a cup or straw
Poor liquid intake
Refusal of cup
Difficulty drinking independently
Aspiration requiring modified feeds
Solids
Refusal of solid textures
Gagging on foods (especially mashed or lumpy solids)
Difficulty transitioning to age appropriate textures
Slow tedious meals
Poor intake of solids or particular textures
Difficulty chewing
Fussy eating or limited range of foods eaten
Refusal to self-feed with spoon or fingers
Refusal to handle foods at mealtimes
Fussy eating and managing toddler mealtimes
Oral/Tube Feeding
Your child is fed via a tube and you
need advice with:
Oral and tube feeding options ( in terms of selection and provision of appropriate food and liquid textures and types).
Feeding plans whilst a child is on tube feeding or a combination of oral and tube feeds.
A tube weaning program in conjunction with a Dietitian.
Ways to develop feeding skills so your child is able to transition from tube to oral feeding (eg sucking, biting, chewing, drinking