Helping children overcome feeding challenges for a healthier tomorrow.
One of your most pressing concerns for your child is their nutrition, and nothing can be more distressing than encountering issues around feeding. If you suspect your child is facing a Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD), you’re not alone.
Easterseals Feeding Clinic is your trusted partner in guiding children through the complex landscape of feeding issues. We provide specialized services to help address various factors affecting your child’s relationship with food.
Understanding the Complexity of Feeding
Feeding isn’t just a physical activity—it’s an intricate dance involving muscles, senses, and emotions.
Did you know that eating is the most complex task humans engage in, involving all 8 sensory systems? For a child, particularly one with developmental delays or disabilities, navigating this can be overwhelming.
Feeding disorders are more common than you think, affecting 1 in 4 children and as many as 8 in 10 children with disabilities. Various factors can contribute to feeding issues, such as sensory sensitivities, poor oral motor skills, chronic health issues, or even parent-child conflicts. Your child’s condition might be a result of multiple intertwined reasons.
Comprehensive Services for Diverse Needs
At the Easterseals Feeding Clinic, we have a broad range of services addressing the unique challenges your child faces.
- Oral Motor/Feeding Evaluation (For infants through 18 years of age)
- SOS (Sequential-Oral-Sensory) Approach
- Oral Placement Therapy Strategies
- Individual and Group Therapy
- Home Programming
- Food Chaining and Sensory Motor Feeding Techniques
- Evaluation for TOT (Tethered Oral Tissues) (Diagnosis and post-release remediation)
Meet Our Experts
Our team of qualified specialists brings years of experience and dedication to treat feeding disorders in children:
Karen Hobgood, M.A., CCC/SLP
With an unparalleled tenure of 27 years at Easterseals Arkansas, Karen Hobgood is a stalwart in our outpatient and preschool therapy departments.
Specializing in Pediatric Feeding Disorders, she has obtained over 100 hours of targeted continuing education. This includes a deep focus on evaluation methods and treatment strategies for both sensory-based and motor-based feeding issues.
Karen’s credentials don’t end there; she has been an invaluable member of our High-Risk Infant Monitoring team for more than two decades.
Lindsey Fink, M.S., CCC/SLP
Since joining our team in 2019, Lindsey Fink has been a rising star in the outpatient and preschool therapy arena.
She has enhanced her professional skills through a variety of specialized courses, covering areas like SOFFI (Supporting Feeding in Fragile Infants), Sensory-Motor Approaches to Feeding, and techniques to assist Picky and Problem Feeders.
Adding another layer of expertise, Lindsey is an integral part of our High-Risk Infant Monitoring Team.
Alexa Milam, M.S., CCC/SLP
Our newest addition, Alexa Milam, joined us in 2021 and brings fresh perspectives to the team. Sharing her time between the Little Rock Developmental Preschool and The Academy, she adds a rich blend of experiences to her work.
Trained in the SOS Approach to feeding, Alexa not only participates in feeding groups but also leads them, ensuring that each child receives the focused attention they need.
Is it Sensory-Based or Motor Disorder?
Unsure about the root cause of your child’s feeding issue? Our detailed checklist can help distinguish between sensory and motor disorders. This will guide your next steps toward effective treatment.
Sensory Disorder
- Demonstrates nipple confusion with breast-feeding and bottle-feeding
- Inability to differentiate tastes in a bottle despite an intact suck
- Manages liquids better than solids
- Able to sort food out in a mixed texture
- Holds food under the tongue or in the cheek and avoids swallowing
- Vomiting only certain textures
- Gags when food approaches or touches lips
- Hypersensitive gag with solids; normal liquid swallow
- Tolerates own fingers in the mouth and does not accept someone else’s fingers
- Does not mouth toys
- Refuses toothbrushing
Motor Disorder
- Inefficient suck with breast and bottle
- Differentiates tastes in bottle
- Oral motor inefficiency or incoordination is noted with all textures
- Swallows food whole when offered in mixed textures
- Unable to hold and manipulate bolus on tongue; food falls out of the mouth or into cheeks
- Vomiting is not texture-specific
- Gags after food is moved through the oral cavity
- Gags with liquids and solids after swallowing
- Tolerates other’ fingers in mouth
- Accepts teething toys but is unable to bite them or keep them in the mouth
- Accepts toothbrushing
Contact Us
At Easterseals Feeding Clinic, we’re committed to changing lives—one bite at a time. Together, we can set the table for your child’s healthier future.
Ready to take the next step for your child’s well-being? Send us an inquiry to learn more about our Children’s Services.
