Therapy and coaching
Feeding Therapy for Kids in Los Angeles
Speech and occupational therapists, hospital teams and ARFID specialists from Long Beach to the Valley, with the signs to watch for and how LA families pay.
Feeding therapy for kids in Los Angeles is offered by speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists in clinics, at home and online, and by hospital teams such as Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for complex swallowing problems. It helps children who eat very few foods, gag on textures, struggle to chew or swallow, have ARFID, or are learning to eat after tube feeding. Under 3, Early Start evaluations through your regional center cost nothing; Medi-Cal covers medically necessary care under 21; otherwise families use insurance or pay privately.
On this page
15 feeding therapy programs for kids in Los Angeles
Searching for pediatric feeding therapy near you? The list starts with hospital and ARFID programs, then speech and occupational therapy practices by area: central LA, Northeast LA and the foothills, the Valley, the Westside, the South Bay and Long Beach. Several come to your home.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Aerodigestive Program
East Hollywood · 4650 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Good for Kids with complex swallowing or breathing problems
CHLA’s Aerodigestive Program brings together specialists in breathing, feeding and swallowing disorders, so a child can see several of them, and have some tests, in one visit. Testing includes a triple endoscopy, three scope tests in one outpatient procedure, and the program takes new patients, referrals and second opinions. For kids with complex digestive conditions, CHLA’s Intestinal Rehabilitation and Nutrition Support Program also treats feeding problems.
- Breathing, feeding and swallowing team
- New patients, referrals, second opinions
- Triple endoscopy in one procedure
UCLA Health Nourish for Life
Westwood and Santa Monica · 1260 15th Street, Suite 1024, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Good for ARFID with weight loss or medical concerns
Dr. Elaine Rosen, a UCLA adolescent medicine pediatrician, created two UCLA programs for eating disorders: Nourish for Life, an outpatient program with multidisciplinary assessment and treatment, and a Medical Stabilization Program at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital for the most severe malnutrition. Both serve patients from childhood through their mid-20s, and her clinical interests include ARFID. She sees patients in Westwood and Santa Monica.
- Eating disorders, including ARFID
- Childhood through mid-20s
- Westwood and Santa Monica clinics
uclahealth.org (opens their site)424-259-8570On Summerground
Eating Disorder Therapy LA
Mid-Wilshire and online · 4929 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1000, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Good for Kids 10 and up with ARFID
This therapy practice treats ARFID with a family version of CBT-AR, a cognitive behavioral therapy designed for ARFID, and offers family-based treatment for teens with other eating disorders. Its specialist therapists see children 10 and up, in the office or online anywhere in California, and the practice says it accepts several insurance plans. It also runs a four-day ARFID Kids Camp (not therapy) for 7- to 10-year-olds with a parent; it costs $1,000 and isn’t billed to insurance.
- CBT-AR for ARFID, ages 10 and up
- Office or online in California
- ARFID camp, ages 7–10: $1,000
eatingdisordertherapyla.com (opens their site)323-743-1122On Summerground
Bright Beginnings Pediatric Services
Miracle Mile · 5657 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 280, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Good for Picky eaters, ARFID and tube weaning
This speech pathology practice treats feeding and swallowing problems at every age: weak latch and bottle aversion in babies, gagging and texture aversions in toddlers, restricted diets and ARFID in older kids, and children moving from tube feeding to eating by mouth. Evaluations include watching a meal and how your child handles different textures, and therapy draws on approaches such as SOS, Get Permission, food chaining and VitalStim. Sessions are one-on-one, 25 to 50 minutes, usually once or twice a week.
- All ages, babies to big kids
- ARFID and tube-to-mouth transitions
- 25–50 min sessions, 1–2 a week
brightbeginningsla.com (opens their site)323-525-0247On Summerground
TheraPlayLA
Mid-City · 1070 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Good for Picky eaters with sensory or oral-motor issues
TheraPlayLA’s occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists treat picky eating, gagging, trouble chewing or drinking from a cup or straw, drooling, long mealtimes, bottle use past 12 months and failure to thrive. Their approach blends sensory processing, oral-motor work and orofacial myofunctional therapy, and includes caregiver training so the feeding plan fits your family.
- OT and speech feeding therapists
- Sensory and oral-motor work
- Caregiver training
LA Speech and Swallow
Highland Park and in-home
Good for Babies and medically complex kids
K. Tatiana Maldonado, M.S., CCC-SLP, IBCLC, is a Spanish-English bilingual speech-language pathologist and lactation consultant with NICU and pediatric ICU experience. She helps babies and children with breastfeeding, moving to a bottle, starting solids and swallowing, especially kids with prematurity, medical complexity or a tracheostomy. Visits are in your home across greater LA, with a travel fee beyond 10 miles from Downtown.
- Spanish-English bilingual
- Lactation consultant (IBCLC)
- In-home across greater LA
Rachel Velard Speech and Feeding Therapy
Northeast LA, Glendale and Burbank
Good for Families who want feeding therapy at home
Rachel K. Velard, M.A., CCC-SLP, runs a home-based practice for children from infancy to 18 in Northeast LA, Glendale, Burbank and the east Valley. For babies, feeding therapy covers sucking, bottle and utensil feeding and starting solids; for older kids, extreme picky eating and trouble chewing, drinking or swallowing. She also treats speech and language delays and orofacial myofunctional disorders.
- Comes to your home
- Infancy to age 18
- Feeding, speech and myofunctional
rachelkvelardslp.com (opens their site)347-683-6800On Summerground
Uplift Therapy Center
La Cañada Flintridge
Good for Kids who need an OT and speech feeding team
Uplift’s interdisciplinary team of occupational therapists, speech therapists and nutritional educators evaluates and treats children who struggle to eat enough food or a wide enough variety. The center also treats pediatric dysphagia, or trouble swallowing, and offers a free consultation if you’re not sure whether your child needs therapy.
- OT, speech and nutrition educators
- Picky eating and swallowing problems
- Free consultation
LA Pediatric Feeding & Speech Therapy
16633 Ventura Blvd, Suite 1015, Encino, CA 91436
Good for Babies with latch, bottle or solids trouble
Dr. Anna Gross, SLPD, CCC-SLP, CLC, is a speech-language pathologist and certified lactation counselor who evaluates and treats oral-motor and feeding problems in babies and toddlers, from weak latch to trouble starting solids, picky eating and oral aversion. She sees families in her Encino office, at home across much of the Valley and the Westside, and by teletherapy; a $100 travel fee applies in some areas, such as Santa Monica, Pasadena and Culver City.
- Babies and toddlers
- Certified lactation counselor
- Office, home or teletherapy
- $100 travel fee in some areas
thebabyslp.com (opens their site)818-873-5558On Summerground
SG Speech Therapy
Calabasas
Good for Kaiser members in the Valley
SG Speech Therapy’s ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists offer feeding therapy for children who eat a very limited range of foods, gag or cry at meals, or refuse whole textures, along with speech and myofunctional therapy. Feeding sessions happen at home in the Valley, at the Calabasas clinic or by teletherapy, with parent coaching. The practice is in network with Kaiser Permanente (members start with a referral from their Kaiser provider), vendored with North Los Angeles County Regional Center, and an Easterseals Southern California provider.
- Kaiser in network, with referral
- NLACRC vendor
- Home, clinic or teletherapy
OT Kids
West LA, Santa Monica and Venice
Good for Westside kids who need OT-led feeding help
Founder Corbin Gaucher Eastman, OTR/L, leads a team of sensory-integration-based occupational therapists who work with children from birth to 12 on the Westside. For feeding, they use the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach, a structured, step-by-step process for getting comfortable with new foods and textures. Therapy happens at home, at school or virtually, after a free phone consultation and an assessment.
- Occupational therapists
- SOS Approach to Feeding
- Ages 0–12
Speak Live Play
West LA and in-home
Good for Home visits for babies and tube-fed kids
This practice’s feeding therapists work on bottle refusal, breastfeeding, picky eating, starting solids and moving from feeding tubes (NG or PEG) to eating by mouth, including with children who have complex medical diagnoses. It has an office in West LA, sends therapists to homes across the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and many other LA County cities, and offers feeding teletherapy.
- Feeding tube to mouth transitions
- Home visits in the SFV and SGV
- Feeding teletherapy
Bright Steps Pediatric Speech & Feeding Therapy
Torrance
Good for South Bay kids with sensory or oral-motor issues
Founded by Rose Fairbairn, M.S., CCC-SLP, Bright Steps treats sensory-based feeding challenges, oral-motor difficulties and picky eating in children 6 months and older, alongside speech and occupational therapy. The practice lists training in the SOS Approach to Feeding and IDDSI, a framework for food textures and drink thickness. Families come to the Torrance or Los Alamitos location or use teletherapy, and a free consult helps decide whether a child needs speech, feeding or OT.
- Picky eating from 6 months
- SOS Feeding and IDDSI training
- Speech, feeding and OT
Ground to Grow Occupational Therapy
24050 Madison Street #110, Torrance, CA 90505
Good for Kids 2 and up with sensory-based picky eating
This Torrance occupational therapy practice offers feeding therapy for children 2 and up with significant picky eating, or trouble trying new foods, handling textures or joining meals. It pairs the SOS Approach to Feeding with DIR Floortime’s relationship-first style and invites parents to take part. It doesn’t treat breast or bottle feeding, and it starts with a free 15-minute consultation.
- Ages 2 and up
- SOS Approach plus DIR Floortime
- No breast or bottle feeding
groundtogrowot.com (opens their site)310-400-6064On Summerground
Tree of Life Feeding & Speech Therapy Co.
3816 Woodruff Avenue, Suite 102, Long Beach, CA 90808
Good for Tube weaning and swallowing problems
Founder Tiffany has been a pediatric speech-language pathologist since 2014, spent nine years in pediatric medical settings, and became a board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) in 2021. Her feeding and swallowing evaluations and therapy cover prematurity, developmental delays, oral aversion and selective eating, cleft lip and palate, dysphagia, fear of swallowing and g-tube weaning. Lactation visits happen at home or online, and classes cover starting solids and family mealtimes.
- G-tube weaning
- SLP and IBCLC
- Cleft and swallowing problems
Signs your child may need feeding therapy
Lots of toddlers go through choosy phases. Feeding therapy is for eating and drinking problems that get in the way of growth, safety or family life. ASHA lists signs like these (ASHA):
- Babies: arching or stiffening during feeds, trouble breathing while eating, coughing or gagging, spitting up or vomiting a lot, not gaining weight or growing.
- Toddlers and older kids: refusing to eat or drink, eating only certain textures (only soft or only crunchy foods), holding food in the mouth, trouble chewing.
- Other signs: drooling, a gurgly or hoarse voice, and low energy.
Possible causes include cerebral palsy and other nervous system disorders, reflux, prematurity or low birth weight, heart disease, cleft lip or palate, autism, brain injury and sensory issues (same source).
What feeding therapy sessions look like
Feeding therapy is usually led by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) or an occupational therapist (OT). According to ASHA, the SLP may lead a feeding team or work as part of one, alongside an OT, a physical therapist, a doctor or nurse, a dietitian, a developmental specialist, a social worker or a lactation consultant (ASHA).
The first visit is an evaluation. The therapist watches how your child moves their mouth and tongue, and how they pick up food, chew, swallow and drink, often during a real meal. If swallowing safety is in question, a modified barium swallow study (your child eats or drinks something with barium in it while it’s filmed by X-ray) or a FEES exam (a thin scope with a light, passed through the nose) shows what happens during a swallow.
Sessions often look like play at the table. Depending on your child, they work on chewing, tolerating new textures and smells, changing food textures or thickening liquids so swallowing is safe, positioning, and mealtime routines. Practices on this list name approaches such as SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory), food chaining and Get Permission. At Bright Beginnings, sessions are one-on-one, 25 to 50 minutes, usually once or twice a week.
Expect homework. ASHA suggests telling the team what your child eats and drinks at home, asking questions when you’re unsure what the therapist is working on, and following their suggestions at home and at school.
ARFID: when picky eating is an eating disorder
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder, but it isn’t about body image. Children with ARFID eat too little, or too few kinds of food, because of low interest in eating or fear, such as fear of choking or vomiting. It affects an estimated 2% to 6% of children and teens and can interfere with growth (Stanford Medicine).
In June 2026, Stanford Medicine reported the first randomized controlled trial of ARFID treatments, in 98 underweight children ages 6 to 12. Family-based therapy and an individual, play-based therapy both reduced ARFID symptoms over 14 one-hour online sessions, and family-based therapy also helped children gain weight (same source).
In LA, help for ARFID can come from several directions: therapists trained in ARFID treatment, like Eating Disorder Therapy LA; feeding therapists for oral-motor or sensory problems; and doctors who track growth and nutrition, as in UCLA’s Nourish for Life program. If your child is losing weight, start with the pediatrician.
Who pays for feeding therapy in LA
How you pay depends on your child’s age and coverage. Many families combine these:
- Early Start (birth to 3). California’s early intervention services can include speech and language services, occupational therapy and nutrition services. Evaluation, assessment and service coordination cost nothing, eligibility isn’t based on income or immigration status, and you may be asked to use insurance for ongoing therapy (DDS). Find your center in our regional centers guide.
- Medi-Cal. Under Medicaid’s EPSDT rule, Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) must cover all medically necessary services for members under 21, and that can include feeding therapy (Medicaid.gov). Ask your child’s doctor and health plan how to get a referral.
- Private insurance. Plans differ, so call and ask whether feeding therapy is covered and whether you need a referral. On this list, SG Speech Therapy is in network with Kaiser Permanente for members referred by their Kaiser provider. Out-of-network practices may give you a superbill to submit.
- Private pay. Prices vary, and most practices on this list don’t post them. Two published examples: LA Pediatric Feeding & Speech Therapy adds a $100 travel fee for home visits in some areas, and Eating Disorder Therapy LA’s ARFID Kids Camp costs $1,000 and isn’t billed to insurance.
Questions parents ask
What is feeding therapy?
Feeding therapy helps children who have trouble eating or drinking safely, eating enough, or accepting more than a few foods. A speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist works on skills like chewing, swallowing and drinking from a cup, on tolerating new textures and smells, and on mealtime routines, and coaches parents to practice at home. Children with medical causes may also need a doctor, a dietitian or a hospital feeding team.
How do I know if my child is a picky eater or needs feeding therapy?
Many toddlers are choosy for a while. Ask your pediatrician about a feeding evaluation if your child gags, coughs or chokes at meals, eats only certain textures, holds food in their mouth, has trouble chewing, isn’t gaining weight, or if meals have become a daily struggle for your family. ASHA lists refusing food or drink, eating only certain textures, pocketing food and chewing problems among the signs in toddlers and older kids.
Who does feeding therapy, a speech therapist or an occupational therapist?
Both can. ASHA notes that an SLP may lead or join a feeding team that includes an OT, a dietitian and a doctor. On this list, Bright Beginnings, LA Speech and Swallow and Tree of Life are speech-language pathology practices; OT Kids and Ground to Grow are occupational therapy practices; TheraPlayLA and Uplift Therapy Center have both. If swallowing safety is the concern, ask whether the therapist treats dysphagia.
Is ARFID the same as picky eating?
No. ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder) is an eating disorder in which a child eats too little, or too few kinds of food, because of low interest in eating, sensory sensitivity or fear of choking or vomiting, not because of body image. It can interfere with growth. A 2026 Stanford trial found that family-based therapy and an individual, play-based therapy both helped children 6 to 12 with ARFID.
Can feeding therapy help a child come off a feeding tube?
It can be part of the plan, worked out with your child’s doctors and dietitian. Several LA practices list tube weaning or moving from tube to oral feeding, including Bright Beginnings in the Miracle Mile, Tree of Life in Long Beach and Speak Live Play’s home-visit team. At CHLA, the Intestinal Rehabilitation and Nutrition Support Program cares for children weaning from IV nutrition and helps with feeding problems that affect growth.
Does insurance or Medi-Cal pay for feeding therapy?
It can. Medi-Cal must cover medically necessary services for members under 21 under federal EPSDT rules. Private plans vary, so call and ask whether feeding therapy is covered and whether you need a referral or prior authorization. For children under 3, the regional center’s Early Start program evaluates at no charge, and its services can include speech, occupational therapy and nutrition services.
How we made this list
We searched the web for pediatric feeding therapy, hospital feeding programs and ARFID treatment across Los Angeles County, read each place’s own pages, and kept 15 that clearly serve children: speech and occupational therapy practices, hospital programs and an ARFID therapy practice, spread across LA. Every detail about a place comes from its own site as of October 2026; we didn’t use ratings or reviews. Insurance, prices and openings change, so confirm when you call.
No one paid to be on it. It’s information to start from, not medical or legal advice: check services, costs and coverage with each provider before you book. Spotted something out of date, or run a place that belongs here? Write to hello@summerground.com.
Sources
- ASHA, Helping You Communicate: Feeding and swallowing disorders in children
- California Department of Developmental Services: Early Start FAQs (December 2025)
- California Department of Developmental Services: What is Early Start?
- Medicaid.gov: Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT)
- Stanford Medicine: Two treatments help ARFID, a common pediatric eating disorder (June 2026)
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: Aerodigestive Program
- Children’s Hospital Los Angeles: Intestinal Rehabilitation and Nutrition Support Program