Specialist Paediatric Feeding Program
Supporting Children to Feel Confident, Comfortable, and Curious Around Food
When Mealtimes Become Challenging
For some families, mealtimes can become a source of stress and worry. Children may feel anxious about trying new foods, strongly prefer only a small number of familiar foods, or react to certain textures, smells, or appearances of food.
Feeding challenges can affect more than just what a child eats. They can impact family routines, social experiences, and a child’s confidence around food.
At Greenhouse Paediatrics, our Specialist Paediatric Feeding Service supports families to better understand the reasons behind feeding difficulties and provides practical strategies that help children feel more comfortable around food.
Our approach combines direct therapy with your child alongside guidance for parents, helping families develop strategies that can be used during everyday mealtimes at home.
Using evidence informed, neuro-affirming, and family centered approaches, we support children to explore foods in a safe and supportive environment.
Our goal is to help children build a positive relationship with food at their own pace, while giving parents practical tools to make mealtimes calmer and more enjoyable for the whole family.
Your Therapist - Hayley Heaney
This service is led by Hayley Heaney, Occupational Therapist and Feeding Therapist.
Hayley is an Occupational Therapist with a background in nutrition and a strong interest in paediatric feeding.
She has undertaken extensive training in paediatric feeding therapy, including evidence based and neuro-affirming approaches that support children experiencing sensory based feeding challenges, anxiety around food, and avoidant or restrictive eating patterns.
Hayley works closely with families to understand the unique factors influencing each child’s feeding journey, including anxiety, sensory sensitivities, interoception emotional regulation, and family mealtime dynamics.
Her approach is collaborative, playful, and supportive, helping children feel safe exploring food while empowering families with practical tools that work in everyday life.
Who is this service for?
The Specialist Paediatric Feeding Service supports children who:
- Eat a very limited range of foods
- Strongly prefer only certain foods or brands
- Avoid particular textures, smells, or the appearance of foods
- Become distressed or anxious during mealtimes
- Find it difficult to try new or unfamiliar foods
- Experience strong sensory sensitivities related to food
- Have difficulty recognising internal body signals such as hunger or fullness
- Need separate meals from the rest of the family
- Have feeding patterns commonly associated with Autism, ARFID, sensory processing differences, or anxiety around food
Why choose this service?
Feeding challenges are often influenced by a range of factors including sensory processing, anxiety, routines, and a child’s past experiences with food. Our feeding service focuses on understanding the unique reasons behind each child’s difficulties so support can be tailored to their individual needs.
Families are supported through a collaborative and practical approach, combining direct therapy with the child alongside guidance for parents. This helps strategies transfer into everyday mealtimes at home.
Our approach focuses on:
- Neuro-affirming and family centred support
- Evidence informed occupational therapy approaches
- Understanding the sensory and emotional aspects of feeding
- Building confidence and positive experiences around food
- Providing practical strategies that work in everyday family routines
What is included?
Comprehensive Feeding Assessment
A 2-hour consultation with your family to explore your child’s feeding experiences and understand the factors contributing to mealtime challenges.
This appointment includes:
- Detailed feeding and developmental history
- Understanding your child’s current food preferences and range
- Exploration of sensory, emotional, and interoceptive factors influencing eating
- Identification of underlying feeding challenges
- Development of an initial therapy and support plan
Feeding Therapy Sessions
Therapy sessions are designed to support children to gradually build confidence and comfort with food in a supportive, pressure-free environment.
Sessions may include:
- Play based food exploration
- Sensory informed feeding strategies
- Gradual exposure to new foods
- Support with reducing anxiety around eating
- Parent coaching and practical mealtime strategies
Food is included during sessions to support safe and supported food exploration.
Home Program & Family Strategies
Families receive a comprehensive home program designed to support progress between sessions.
This includes:
- Individualised mealtime strategies
- Practical food exploration activities
- Guidance to support regulation and confidence around food
- Strategies to help build positive mealtime routines
Visual Supports & Resources
These may include:
- Visual mealtime routines
- Food exploration supports
- Regulation strategies
- Parent coaching tools
Ongoing Support
Additional support can be provided depending on each child’s needs.
This may include:
- Further therapy sessions
- Parent consultations
- Collaboration with schools or childcare
- Progress reviews and updated strategies
*Travel time may incur an additional cost if sessions are held at home or school.
Supporting children to feel confident, comfortable, and curious around food.
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