1. What are some common signs of pediatric oral motor and sensory feeding disorders? Common diagnostic “red flags include:”

a. Ongoing poor weight gain or weight loss
b. Ongoing problems with choking, gagging or coughing during meals
c. Ongoing problem with vomiting
d. More than one incident of nasal reflux
e. History of eating and breathing coordination problems
f. Parent’s reporting child as “picky” at 2+ well child checks
g. Inability to transition to baby food purees at 10 months
h. Aversion or avoidance of texture groups
i. Food range of less than 20 foods, with many foods dropping off over time
j. An infant who cries or arches at most meals
k. Meals are battles

2. Do kids always grow out of that “picky eater” phase?

a. No! Given enough time and repetitive negative stimulus, a sensory feeding disorder
can worse with age leading to a severely impoverished growth curve, or even a
permanent feeding tube.

3. Isn’t there anyways an organic or behavioral cause of a feeding problem?

a. No, rather sensory dysregulation or oral-motor delays contribute to a vast sum of
pediatric patients with a feeding disorder diagnosis. Luckily, through feeding therapy
both desensitization of all kinds of aversions, as well as oral-motor skills improvement
can take place.