Picky eating comes up in a lot of households. Toddlers narrow their menus, preschoolers go through beige-food phases, and plenty of families never book an appointment about it. The harder question for Triad parents is when to ask for help, and then which kind of professional to call, because two very different specialists work on it. A registered dietitian looks at what a child eats, whether growth and nutrients are on track, and how family meals are structured. A feeding therapist, usually a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist, looks at how a child eats: chewing, swallowing, gagging, and sensory reactions to texture, smell and temperature. Around Greensboro, the feeding therapy side is well stocked in pediatric therapy clinics, while dietitians who publicly focus on selective eating are fewer and cluster in hospital programs and in Winston-Salem. Here is who does what.
Cone Health Children’s Nutrition and Diabetes Education: the dietitian door in Greensboro
Cone Health’s pediatric nutrition service at 1200 North Elm Street in Greensboro lists picky and selective eating alongside feeding and swallowing disorders, poor weight gain, food allergies and digestive problems. Its page says the counseling is delivered by dietitians holding the Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition credential (CSP), and that sessions are family-centered, with parents taught practical strategies for building meals the whole household will eat. This is the entry in this article to start with when the worry is growth, weight or nutrient gaps rather than the mechanics of eating. Ask whether a physician referral is required when you call 336-832-7000. Cone’s separate pediatric rehabilitation center at 1904 North Church Street lists feeding and swallowing disorders under its speech therapy services (336-271-4840), which puts both halves of the question inside one health system for families who want that.
Interact Peds: speech and occupational therapists on West Market Street
Interact Pediatric Therapy was founded in 2009 by speech-language pathologist Carey Bullard, MS, CCC-SLP, and occupational therapist Deanna Reyes, OT/L, and works from 3907-A West Market Street in Greensboro. Feeding therapy sits beside its speech and occupational therapy services, and its feeding page describes work with children who have limited diets and sensory aversions as well as difficulty sucking, chewing and swallowing. Having both disciplines under one roof means a family can see a speech-language pathologist and an occupational therapist at the same clinic. The clinic’s published hours are Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday mornings until 12:30 p.m. Confirm insurance coverage by phone at 336-279-9008.
Kids in Motion Therapies: mealtime work inside a speech therapy program
Kids in Motion runs physical, occupational and speech therapy from 7017 Albert Pick Drive, Suite D, in northwest Greensboro near the airport. Its speech therapy page names picky eating, a limited variety of accepted foods and challenges during mealtimes among the reasons to request an evaluation, and describes sessions built around food exploration and gradually accepting more foods. Note the location split: the practice lists speech therapy at the Greensboro clinic only, while its Winston-Salem site at 6742 NC-109 offers physical and occupational therapy and its Asheboro site offers physical therapy. The main line is 336-329-3177. A different pediatric practice with a similar name operates in another state, so search carefully if you are looking it up online.
Simply Therapy: feeding from the bottle stage onward, in Winston-Salem and Kernersville
Simply Therapy is a speech therapy practice with offices at 307 Upton Street in Winston-Salem and 935-C East Mountain Street in Kernersville, the closer of the two for east Guilford families. It treats children from birth to 21, and its feeding list is specific: picky eating and mealtime struggles, trouble moving to solid foods or to a straw or open cup, chewing difficulties, sensory and oral aversions, prolonged meal times and the transition from tube to oral feeding. It also runs infant feeding evaluations and orofacial myofunctional therapy, and says its therapists coordinate with pediatricians, lactation consultants, dentists and dietitians. It is in network with NC Medicaid, NC Health Choice, Healthy Blue, WellCare of NC and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of NC, which is useful to know for families on a Medicaid plan. Appointments run Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; call 336-837-4222.
Pediatric Advanced Therapy: a multi-discipline feeding program with a Winston-Salem clinic
Pediatric Advanced Therapy has served families since 1999 and runs clinics across the Charlotte, Asheville and Winston-Salem areas; its Winston-Salem clinic is at 280 Charlois Boulevard. Its feeding program draws on speech, occupational and physical therapy depending on what is behind the problem, and it names the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach, Oral Placement Therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation among its methods. The practice says it has dedicated feeding kitchens and feeding rooms; ask whether the Winston-Salem site has them. Its red-flag list includes eating only crunchy foods, a limited diet and refusing meat. Families can self-refer online or by phone, and the practice says it calls back within five business days; the central number, 704-799-6824, is a Charlotte-area line.
Banyan Tree Counseling and Wellness: a dietitian who works with ARFID from age 5
Banyan Tree is a Winston-Salem counseling group at 3303 Healy Drive, and its registered dietitian, Abby Olmstead, MS, RDN, lists children age 5 and up with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) among her specialties, along with helping parents build nutrition plans for their children. Her approach follows Health at Every Size and intuitive eating principles, with an “all foods fit” stance rather than food rules. Because the practice also offers play therapy and parenting support, a family can find nutrition counseling, play therapy and parenting support in one place. She accepts BCBS, Aetna, MedCost and UHC; call 336-448-4451.
Before You Book
Many families start with their pediatrician and a growth chart. When weight and height are tracking and the menu is short and repetitive, some families try structure before therapy: regular meal and snack times, a familiar “safe” food on the plate at every meal, and a new food offered without pressure. That is close to the division of responsibility model many dietitians teach, where the parent decides what, when and where food is served and the child decides whether and how much to eat. Families often ask for a dietitian referral first when growth is slipping or the list of accepted foods keeps shrinking.
Families more often look for a feeding evaluation when the concern looks mechanical or sensory: gagging or vomiting at the sight or touch of certain foods, meals that routinely run past 30 minutes, trouble chewing meat or mixed textures, or a child who still eats mostly purees well past the toddler years. When you call, ask who will run the sessions, a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist, which approach they use, how parents take part, and whether they coordinate with a dietitian. Ask about referrals and prior authorization too, since several of these clinics bill as medical therapy.
Geography is the last practical point. The feeding therapy clinics in this article are in Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Kernersville, but the dietitians who publicly name selective eating or ARFID as a focus are the Cone Health pediatric team in Greensboro and the Banyan Tree practice in Winston-Salem; this article’s search did not turn up a Greensboro private practice advertising that focus. If therapy turns into weekly sessions over several months, a clinic 15 minutes from home may serve a family better than one with more specialized equipment 45 minutes away.
This article describes what local businesses offer and, where noted, what they say about their own services. Greensboro Vibe does not endorse any treatment for any condition, and nothing here is medical advice. Please talk with your doctor or another qualified clinician before starting something new.
