Feeding Therapy
Welcome to Jen Belanger Nutrition! We are so glad you are here and ready to tackle your child’s eating challenges. Our feeding specialists have years of experience treating all types of children with extreme picky eating and ARFID. Here are just some ill-informed statements we’ve heard about picky kids:
“They’ll grow out of it”
“They’ll eat it when they are hungry enough”
“Just don’t offer them anything else”
Katie (OT) and Jen (RD) are both SOS-trained feeding therapists who work with picky eaters every day to work through texture issues, oral motor challenges and so much more!
What is The SOS Approach to Feeding?
SOS stands for Sequential Oral Sensory; the only results driven feeding program that helps children learn the skills they need to eat well (definition taken from sosapproachtofeeding.com). The SOS approach acknowledges that sometimes picky eating isn’t “just a phase;” there can be many reasons why a child might be picky that has nothing to do with the stage of development they are currently in. The SOS Feeding approach…
- Understands that eating is a learned skill that all children can acquire
- Focuses on child-centered, family-based feeding
- Individualizes to each child’s specific needs
- Continuously evolves strategies to best fit the child
- Considers the physical, medical, nutritional, developmental, learning, environmental, oral motor, postural and sensory factors involved in a child’s current eating abilities
To learn more about the SOS feeding approach that we practice at Jen Belanger Nutrition click here.
What to Expect From Feeding Therapy?
Our feeding therapy appointments take place with both Jen (RD) and Katie (OT) who work as a team of trained feeding therapists to assess, problem-solve, and support children with feeding difficulties and their families. Every feeding therapy session is personalized to your child. We use hands on food exploration and comprehensive occupational therapy and nutrition assessments to treat the complexities of your child’s feeding difficulties.
Here are a few things we want you to know:
-No one can MAKE your child eat. But, we CAN set them up with the tools and knowledge to help them eat more foods.
-Getting a child comfortable with new foods takes time and patience. A lot of time and patience.
-Everyone needs to be ready (child and parents). Without motivation and willingness on both sides, we won’t see much progress.
-It’s important that we meet regularly to stay on top of goals and troubleshoot roadblocks as they occur. This might mean weekly or biweekly visits.
Insurance
We accept the following insurance plans*
Aetna
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Cigna
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Health New England
Mass General Brigham (formerly Allways)
Tufts Commercial Plans
Tufts Health Public Plans
Unicare/Wellpoint (select diagnoses only)
United Healthcare
Wellsense (Formerly BMC HealthNet)
*Not all insurances will cover 100% of your visit. It is always best to call your insurance before your appointment and know your coverage.
If I do not accept your insurance, self payment is available.
We can also provide a Superbill that can be submitted to your insurance for reimbursement.