Feeding Program

CHOC’s multidisciplinary Feeding Program provides individualized, comprehensive care for children and families affected by pediatric feeding disorders.

Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is characterized by impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial challenges. Research shows that children with feeding disorders achieve the best outcomes when treated by a collaborative, multidisciplinary team.

Established in 2003, CHOC’s feeding program is one of the few in the world to offer both comprehensive outpatient consultations and an intensive inpatient feeding therapy program. Our expert team helps children and their families build the skills and confidence needed to make mealtime a positive and successful part of everyday life.

Before coming to CHOC, Pacer Lybbert had never eaten a Cheerio, a piece of toast or even spoonful of yogurt. He was almost 4 and had never enjoyed birthday cake, Halloween candy or a Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Since birth, Pacer had received almost all of his nutrition through a feeding tube.

His parents Quinn and Mekell had resigned themselves to the possibility that Pacer would need a feeding tube for life. Then, they met a little boy near their new home in Montana who had been successfully treated for a similar problem at the CHOC Multidisciplinary Feeding Program.

Building: CHOC Clinic | 1201 W. La Veta Ave. | Orange, CA 92868 | Appointments: 888-770-2462