Our Services

Feeding Therapy

AID-L provides responsive, family centered feeding and swallowing therapeutic services. Our goal is to create an environment where patients and family can build trust in feeding while growing their skills and motivation to eat. We strive to work as a team with caregivers and other professionals to improve quality of life and relationships with food. 

Trust: Every feeding experience a child and family have forms an association with food. Our goal is to further build that trust and grow comfortability with mealtime, while always respecting any communication and responses the child has. 

Team and Family centered: We strive to build a multidisciplinary team for our patients, which begins with the caregivers. It is with both the family and other practitioners' support that we can dive into the root cause of a feeding difficulty. We work with families to advocate for their needs, and to set appropriate goals. It is AID-L's desire that through  empowerment, a child will not only achieve, but exceed expectations

Quality of life: Progress is important to us, but our focus lies in improving the quality of life for our patients and families when it comes to feeding. 

Feeding difficulties may include:

• Weight gain and growth concerns

• Difficulty transitioning to an age-appropriate diet

• Diet selectivity (“picky eating”)

• Feeding tube or supplement dependence

• Difficult mealtime behaviors and extended mealtimes

• Delay in meeting feeding milestones

• Difficulty with oral motor skills

• Gagging, vomiting, holding, and/or expelling food
  

Diagnoses we treat: 

• Autism Spectrum Disorders 

• Communication Delays/Impairments 

• Developmentally Delayed

• Genetic Disorders 

• Neurologic Conditions (stroke, hydrocephaly, retc) 

• Feeding Aversions 

• Oropharyngeal Dysphagia 

• Feeding Tube Dependency
  

AID-L provides support for feeding and swallowing needs in home, in clinic, and through teletherapy services. Our feeding team consists of skilled clinicians with advanced training in feeding and swallowing throughout a range of patients from anxious eaters to medically complex children. Our team is ready to treat patients from infancy to early adulthood (0-21).

“Feeding is an intricate combination and coordination of skills. It is the single most complex and physically demanding task an infant will complete for the first few weeks, and even months, of life. A single swallow requires the use of 26 muscles and 6 cranial nerves1 working in perfect harmony to move food and liquid through the body. When one or more pieces of the feeding puzzle are missing, out of order, or unclear, infants and children can have difficulty eating and drinking.” Feeding Matters

The following questionnaire is based on your child’s age and developmental milestones. Please use it as a guide and reach out if you note any “red flags” that issue concern. This may also be used to bring to your child’s primary care physician to support a referral for services.

Feeding Matters Infant and Child Questionnaire 

In-Home Services

AID-L is proud to offer a limited number of spots for in-home therapy services. We are excited to provide both feeding and speech & language services in a natural environment setting. This allows us to deliver quality, evidence-based therapy and provide resources to previously underserved populations.

AID-L is passionate about adapting with the needs of the upstate and the families we serve. For this reason, and the noticeable gap of in-home service opportunities, we are now traveling to select areas and building skills within a child's home environment. Our goals include building parent and child relationships using the coaching model, as well as, empowering caregivers with the skills to help their child grow and develop. By coming to families, we are able to help caregivers become an active member of their child's team of advocates in a way that may provide more efficient long-term support.