Pediatric Feeding Therapy in Missoula, MT
Help Your Child Build Healthy Eating Habits for Life
Do mealtimes feel like a daily struggle in your home? Picky eating, swallowing difficulties, or sensory sensitivities are common challenges that can make your family’s mealtimes feel exhausting when they should feel relaxing.
At Samara Therapy Specialists, our pediatric therapists have the training and experience to guide your child toward safer, more comfortable eating habits.
What Is Pediatric Feeding Therapy?
Pediatric feeding therapy is an effective treatment for infants and children who are experiencing challenges with nursing, eating, or drinking. It focuses on building oral motor skills (like strength and coordination), improving mealtime behavior, and addressing picky eating habits in a way that feels fun and safe.
Our therapists will work with you and your child on strategies that support comfortable, efficient, and positive mealtimes. We combine evidence-based techniques with playful, family-centered activities to help children build the skills they need to eat and drink safely.
Why Would a Child Need Pediatric Feeding Therapy?
Feeding therapy can help any child who struggles to eat a variety of nutritious foods, or who has trouble with the physical act of eating or drinking. Consider feeding therapy if your child experiences any of the following:
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing, especially different textures
- Limited variety of accepted foods or extreme pickiness
- Gagging, choking, or coughing during meals
- Oral motor challenges (weak chewing muscles, poor lip closure)
- Strong aversions to food smells, tastes, or textures
- Refusal to sit at the table or participate in group meals
- Poor weight gain or failure to thrive
- Difficulty latching to the breast or bottle
What to Expect During Your Child's Feeding Therapy Session
Our sessions are play-based, judgment-free, and focused on your child’s unique needs and interests. We use fun, gentle activities and games to help your child build the feeding skills they need for healthy growth and safe, relaxing mealtimes.
We encourage parents to join in on your child’s therapy sessions to learn practical feeding strategies you can use at home to support their progress between appointments.
What Your Child Can Achieve with Feeding Therapy
By attending routine feeding therapy sessions with our expert team, your child can:
- Safely explore and swallow a wider variety of foods
- Strengthen oral muscles for more efficient nursing, chewing and swallowing
- Build tolerance to new tastes and textures without distress
- Increase independence at meal and snack times
- Improve nutrition and hydration through diverse food acceptance
- Reduce mealtime stress and foster positive family interactions
Why Choose Samara Therapy Specialists for Your Child's Care?
Families rely on Samara Therapy Specialists because:
Our practice is warm and accepting of everyone in our community. We’re proud to offer your family a safe environment for care that feels like your second home.
Our combined feeding and lactation counseling services ensure continuity of support from infancy through childhood.
We use play and positive reinforcement to keep children engaged and motivated. You are always welcome to share your concerns and what goals you want your child to achieve so we can work together to make it happen.
We work closely with families and healthcare teams to keep everyone informed and deliver the highest-quality care for each child.
We focus on the positives, on what your child can do, to encourage them to achieve even more. And when they gain a new skill, we celebrate along with you!
Reach Out to Get Started Today
Let’s work together to help your child experience the joy of nutritious meals with family and friends. Our team will create a personalized treatment plan to help your child overcome their feeding challenges for a lifetime of safe and comfortable mealtimes. Give us a call at (406) 830-4500 to schedule an evaluation for your child today.