Children facing feeding challenges can have a variety of conditions with a wide range of symptoms. Symptoms may include poor rate of weight gain, obesity, restricted dietary patterns, feeding tube dependence, difficulty swallowing and texture intolerance.
These children may have recurrent gagging and vomiting, gastroesophageal reflux or food allergies that can put them at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Behavioral, developmental and cultural influences on feeding behavior also play a major role for many children. The Feeding Program at Riley Children's Health assesses these issues for each child to ensure that we conduct a holistic assessment.
The Feeding Program at Riley Children's was the first of its kind in Indiana. Our experts look at all aspects of nutrition and feeding in children with or at risk for medical, developmental or behavioral problems that affect feeding and growth. Because we have specially trained developmental pediatricians on staff, we can offer a comprehensive evaluation of your child’s feeding issues and develop a personalized care plan that best fits your child’s needs.
An individualized program is developed for each child by an interdisciplinary team through a series of visits. This team may include:
- Developmental pediatricians
- Dietitians
- Pediatric nurse practitioners
- Occupational and speech therapists
- Child psychologists
- Social workers
Conditions & Services
Conditions Treated
Our pediatric specialists provide patient- and family-centered care for most related conditions. The links below provide more specific information about some, but not all, of the conditions that we treat.
- Anxiety
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Cleft Lip & Palate
- Congenital Heart Disease
- Developmental Delay
- Eosinophilic Disorders
- Failure to Thrive
- Food Allergy
- Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER)
- Head Shape Abnormalities
- Oculo Auriculo Vertebral Spectrum
- Pierre Robin Sequence
- Preterm Lung Disease
- Sensory Processing Disorders
- Speech & Language Disorders
- Tracheoesophageal Fistula
Doctors and
Locations
Doctors
Learn more about the experienced providers associated with the Feeding Program at Riley Children's Health.
Program Forms & Resources
Program Forms & Resources
Riley Children's Health provides the following forms for parents, healthcare providers and personnel. We have also curated relevant resources from other websites and provided links with brief descriptions of the information that is available.
Forms
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Consultation Request Form (Riley Children's Health)
This form is for providers who want to make a non-urgent referral to the Feeding Program at Riley Children's.
Related Departments
Related Departments
We provide multispecialty care for a number of conditions. Below are links to our related departments.
Health Professionals
For Health Professionals
The Feeding Program works closely with referring providers and other subspecialists at Riley at IU Health to coordinate the care of children who are facing difficulties with feeding. Our intake coordinator gathers all needed materials from the provider prior to the patient’s visit and keeps the provider informed of the patient’s progress in our care.
Education
We are committed to helping train and educate the rising generation of developmental pediatric specialists. The Feeding Program regularly includes residents, medical students and nurse practitioner students in our clinics.