Evaluation and Therapy Services
Our Approach to Therapy
Our treatment approach is rooted in advanced training in the SOS Approach to Feeding®, a nationally recognized, evidence-based framework that promotes oral-motor skill development, sensory processing, and positive relationships with food through play-based learning. We also integrate key principles of the AEIOU feeding approach, focusing on responsive feeding strategies, caregiver education, and collaborative support to foster meaningful, lasting progress during mealtimes and in everyday routines.
What We Offer at Develop
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A comprehensive pediatric feeding evaluation is the first step toward understanding your child's unique feeding challenges and creating an effective plan for progress. At Develop, we provide private-pay, in-home pediatric feeding evaluations throughout New York City, allowing us to assess your child's feeding skills in the environment where mealtimes happen most often.
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We provide individualized, private-pay pediatric feeding therapy for infants, toddlers, and children throughout New York City. Our mobile, in-home feeding therapy services are designed to help children develop the oral-motor, sensory, and mealtime skills needed to eat confidently, safely, and successfully in their everyday environments.
Every child’s feeding journey is unique. Whether your child struggles with picky eating, food refusal, limited food variety, sensory sensitivities, oral-motor challenges, difficulty transitioning to new textures, or a diagnosed pediatric feeding disorder, therapy sessions are tailored to their specific needs, strengths, and goals.
Using evidence-based, play-based feeding therapy techniques, we focus on helping children build positive relationships with food while developing the skills necessary to expand their diet and increase acceptance of nutritious foods. Sessions are engaging, supportive, and child-led, allowing children to explore and learn at a pace that promotes confidence and lasting progress.
Our approach incorporates specialized training in the SOS Approach to Feeding® and responsive feeding principles, addressing the whole child rather than focusing solely on food intake. Therapy may target oral-motor development, chewing skills, sensory processing, food exploration, self-feeding skills, mealtime participation, and reducing anxiety or stress associated with eating.
Because meaningful progress happens both during and between sessions, caregiver involvement is a key component of treatment. Families receive practical strategies, education, and ongoing coaching to help support feeding goals during daily meals and routines. We believe that empowering parents and caregivers creates the greatest opportunity for long-term success.
As a sole-practitioner pediatric feeding specialist, every family receives personalized attention, consistent care, and direct communication throughout the therapy process. Services are provided in the comfort of your home, allowing therapy to take place where your child feels most comfortable and where feeding challenges naturally occur.
Our goal is to make mealtimes less stressful, increase food acceptance, improve feeding skills, and help children develop a healthier, more positive relationship with eating—one step at a time.
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Make meaningful progress this summer with our Summer Feeding Therapy Intensive, designed for children who would benefit from increased support and consistency. This focused program includes two individualized feeding therapy sessions per week for four consecutive weeks, providing a total of eight therapy sessions to help accelerate progress toward feeding goals.
Through evidence-based, play-based pediatric feeding therapy, children have frequent opportunities to build oral-motor skills, increase food acceptance, expand food variety, and develop greater confidence around eating. The increased therapy frequency allows for more repetition, skill-building, and momentum than traditional weekly services.
Ideal for children with picky eating, food refusal, sensory feeding challenges, limited food repertoires, oral-motor feeding difficulties, or pediatric feeding disorders, this intensive program helps families maximize progress during the summer months while supporting more positive and successful mealtimes.
Evaluations to Get to the Root of the Issue
Evaluations
During the evaluation, we take a holistic look at your child's feeding development, including oral-motor skills, chewing abilities, swallowing safety, sensory responses to food, food variety, mealtime behaviors, self-feeding skills, and overall nutritional participation. We also gather information about your child's medical history, developmental milestones, growth patterns, feeding experiences, and family mealtime routines to better understand the factors contributing to feeding difficulties.
Our evaluation process is designed to be child-centered, supportive, and family-focused. We understand that feeding concerns can be stressful, and our goal is to provide clear answers, practical recommendations, and a personalized roadmap for moving forward.
Previous evaluations and reports from other professionals can be extremely valuable in helping us develop a complete picture of your child's strengths and areas of need. Families are encouraged to share any relevant assessments, including speech-language evaluations, occupational therapy evaluations, physical therapy evaluations, developmental assessments, gastroenterology reports, nutrition consultations, swallow studies, or medical records related to feeding concerns.
Collaboration is an important part of successful pediatric feeding therapy. We welcome communication with your child's existing care team, including pediatricians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, dietitians, gastroenterologists, psychologists, early intervention providers, and other specialists. By working together, we can ensure that recommendations are aligned and that your child receives coordinated, comprehensive support.
Following the evaluation, families receive individualized recommendations based on their child's specific needs. These may include feeding therapy services, home strategies, mealtime modifications, caregiver coaching, referrals to additional providers when appropriate, and goals designed to support long-term feeding success.
Whether your child is experiencing picky eating, food refusal, sensory-based feeding challenges, oral-motor delays, limited food variety, difficulty transitioning to new textures, or a diagnosed pediatric feeding disorder, our comprehensive feeding evaluation provides the foundation for meaningful progress and more positive mealtimes.
