Feeding Therapy in Miami and Orlando
When mealtime feels like a fight every single day.
You are not doing anything wrong, and your child is not just being difficult. You deserve to know why, and to know you don't have to figure it out alone.
Aldea matches Miami and Orlando families with licensed feeding therapists and occupational therapists who treat picky eating, sensory food aversions, oral-motor delays, and mealtime battles, so dinner can stop being the hardest part of your day.
Sara M.
Feeding Therapist, CCC-SLP
Matched in Miami
3-year-old, sensory food aversion
Signs your child may need feeding therapy
If mealtime has turned into a nightly struggle, you are not imagining it, and you are not the only family going through it.
Eats a very limited list of foods
Your child accepts fewer than 15 to 20 foods, or refuses entire textures, colors, or food groups outright.
Gags, chokes, or vomits on new foods
New textures trigger a strong physical reaction, not just a preference against trying them.
Stuck between purees, bottle, or tube
Your child has had a hard time moving from purees, bottle, or tube feeding to age-typical solid foods.
Mealtimes end in meltdowns
Meals regularly run past 30 minutes, or end in tears, bargaining, or a battle over a single bite.
Growth or weight concerns
Your pediatrician has flagged slow weight gain or growth that may be tied to how little variety your child eats.
Feeding is a source of family stress
If mealtimes have started to feel like the hardest part of your day, that alone is reason enough to ask for support.
Feeding challenges our matched therapists treat
Whatever is happening at your table has a name, and there is a therapist who has seen it before and knows where to start.
Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD)
Difficulty eating that affects nutrition, growth, or your child's ability to eat safely and comfortably.
Sensory-based food aversion
Strong reactions to how food looks, smells, feels, or tastes that go well beyond typical picky eating.
Oral-motor and swallowing delays
Difficulty chewing, coordinating swallowing, or managing different food textures safely.
ARFID
Avoidant/restrictive food intake that limits variety or volume enough to affect health or daily life.
Tube-to-oral feeding transitions
Support weaning from a feeding tube toward age-appropriate oral eating, in step with your medical team.
Autism-related feeding challenges
Rigid food preferences, texture sensitivity, or mealtime routines connected to autism or sensory processing.
Get matched with a feeding therapist in three steps
No calling around, no waitlist, and no more feeling like you are managing this on your own.
1
Tell us about your child
Answer a few questions about your child's needs, concerns, and the support you are looking for.
Find support for my child2
Get matched with providers
We help you find vetted pediatric providers who fit your child's needs, location, and preferences.
3
Take the next step
Connect with the provider that feels right for your family and begin your care journey.
What to expect from a feeding therapy evaluation
Your matched therapist will build a plan around your child, not hand you a checklist you have probably already tried.
Initial evaluation
A full history of your child's feeding development, current diet, growth, and any medical factors involved.
Mealtime observation
Your therapist watches an actual meal, in person or by video, to see what is happening in real time.
Oral-motor and sensory assessment
Checking chewing, swallowing, and sensory response to different textures, temperatures, and food types.
A plan built for your family
Goals, session frequency, and home strategies that fit how your family actually eats and lives.
Parent coaching
You are the one at the table every night, not just once a week in session, so you will get concrete strategies you can actually use at home.
Ongoing progress check-ins
Regular updates on what is changing, what isn't yet, and how the plan is adjusted along the way.
Feeding therapy cost and payment options
Cost should not be one more unknown on top of everything else you are already managing.
Insurance Pathway
If your plan covers pediatric feeding therapy, our team verifies your benefits before your first appointment so there are no surprises.
Concierge Pathway
Prefer to pay privately and skip the insurance back-and-forth? Concierge scheduling gets your child seen faster.
Every family's coverage looks a little different, and we would rather walk you through yours directly than guess. Reach out and our team will confirm what applies to your plan before you book.
A family's experience with feeding therapy
Real experiences from parents who found support through Aldea.
“Dinner used to be the worst hour of our day. Our daughter's feeding therapist actually watched us eat together before changing anything, and for the first time it felt like someone understood what our house was really like, not just what the intake form said.”
Daniela Ruiz
Parent, Orlando
Frequently asked questions about feeding therapy
The questions we hear most from Miami and Orlando parents, answered plainly.
Pediatric feeding therapy helps children who struggle with eating, whether that means extreme picky eating, sensory aversions to certain textures, trouble chewing or swallowing, or difficulty transitioning between bottle, purees, and solid food. Sessions are usually led by a speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist with pediatric feeding training.
Feeding therapy can begin in infancy and continue through the school-age years. The right starting point depends on your child's specific feeding concerns rather than age alone, which is why an evaluation comes first.
Not quite. Typical picky eating is common and often resolves with time. Feeding therapy is for children whose eating patterns affect nutrition, growth, safety while swallowing, or family life in a more significant way, and it involves a licensed clinician assessing the underlying cause.
Every child's timeline looks different depending on the underlying cause, how long the pattern has been in place, and consistency between sessions and home practice. Your matched therapist will give you a clearer sense of pacing after the initial evaluation rather than a one-size-fits-all estimate.
Coverage for feeding therapy depends on your specific plan and provider type. Our team verifies your benefits before your first appointment, and we also offer a private-pay Concierge Pathway if you would rather skip the insurance process.
Feeding therapy focuses on the physical and sensory side of eating, such as chewing, swallowing, and texture tolerance. ABA therapy can address the behavioral side of mealtimes, like refusal or escape behaviors. Some children benefit from both, and your matched provider can help you understand what fits your child.
Are you a pediatric feeding specialist?
Join the Aldea provider network and get matched with Miami and Orlando families who need your expertise.