Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove, Illinois

Feeding therapy that gets your child ready for the lunchroom, not just the dinner table. For Buffalo Grove kids ages 18 months to 18 years.

This is not the "just keep offering it" advice you have already tried. At CST Academy, your child's feeding therapist finds the specific reason meals are hard. Then they build a step-by-step plan you can run at your own table.

Pediatric Feeding Therapists

BCBS PPO In-Network

No Referral Needed

Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove - front of CST Academy at 150 Half Day Rd

Get a call back in 24 hours

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New to feeding therapy? One play-based evaluation tells you where your child stands and what comes first, with no referral and no diagnosis required.

What Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove Looks Like at CST Academy

Feeding therapy at our Buffalo Grove clinic is gentle and playful. Sessions never force a bite. Every plan is designed around your child.

How We Approach Feeding Therapy:

A session is play with a purpose. Your child explores food by hand, warms up to new textures, and tries a bite when ready. The feeding therapist quietly builds each step toward the next, so the skills travel home, to daycare, and to school.

What Makes Our Program Different:

Most feeding clinics give a session and a food list. What they cannot offer is a full care team in one building, and that is our difference.

Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove - child during a feeding therapy session at CST Academy

Integrated Care Model.

Your feeding therapist, behavior analyst, and occupational therapist coordinate whenever their goals overlap.

Play-Based, Low-Pressure Mealtimes.

Your child explores food through touch and play, so trying a new bite feels safe rather than stressful.

Weekly Adjustments.

Your feeding therapist updates the plan every session based on the food your child accepted last week and what you noticed at home.

Parent Coaching at Every Visit.

Each session ends with one or two specific things to try at your next meal, so progress keeps going between visits.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Address

150 Half Day Rd, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089

Phone

(773) 620-7800

Hours

Monday to Thursday: 8 AM to 6 PM
Friday: 8 AM to 5 PM

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Five Steps From First Call to First Bite

Starting feeding therapy is simpler than most parents expect. From your first call to real change at your own table, here are five steps that fit your week as a family.

YOUR CHILD'S PROGRAM

From Tense Meals to a Lunchbox That Comes Home Empty

Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove - child during a feeding session at CST Academy

After the first month, you see it where it counts. New food lands on the plate, a meal ends calmly, and the lunchbox comes home closer to empty. The wins show up at home and at school.

Book Your Child's Evaluation. Our Team Responds in 24 Hours.

Steps

1

Consultation.

Call (773) 620-7800 or fill out our form. Tell us what mealtimes look like and what your child will and will not eat. No referral needed to start.

2

Insurance Check and Therapist Match.

Our team verifies your benefits, goes over every coverage detail with you, and matches your child with the right feeding therapist.

3

Feeding Evaluation.

Your child comes in for a play-based feeding evaluation. You leave knowing what is driving the struggle and what the plan targets first.

4

Therapy Sessions.

Your child begins one-on-one sessions with the same feeding therapist, each focused on the change that makes the biggest difference at your table.

5

Progress and Adjustment.

At the end of every session, your feeding therapist shares what your child accomplished, what is improving, and one thing to try at home this week.

Get Ahead of the School Lunchroom

Start now, and your child can head into the school year eating with the group, not around it.

Get Started Today

(773) 620-7800

Signs Your Child May Benefit from Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove

You have probably wondered for a while whether this is just picky eating. If a few of the signs below sound like your child, that is reason enough to call. No need for a referral or diagnosis to talk to us.

child eats a very small variety of foods

Your child eats only a small handful of food and refuses the rest, sometimes whole food groups at a time.

Your child gags, coughs, or chokes at meals, or clearly struggles to chew.

child reacts strongly to food textures and smells

Your child reacts strongly to the texture, smell, or temperature of food and avoids anything new on the plate.

child refuses meals or melts down at the table

Your child melts down, leaves the table, or refuses to come to meals at all.

child pockets food or overfills their mouth

Your child pockets food in their cheeks, crams in more than they can chew, or keeps food in their mouth long after the meal ends.

child struggles with cups, straws, or utensils

Your child struggles to use a cup, straw, or utensils that other children their age have figured out.

child not gaining weight or eating too little

Your child is losing weight, not gaining as expected, or eating too little to stay well nourished.

daycare or pediatrician raised concerns about eating

Your child's pediatrician has raised concerns about how or how much your child eats.

Any of these sound familiar? A feeding evaluation gives you a real answer. You leave with either a plan to turn the pattern around or the reassurance that your child is simply on their own timeline.

Talk to a Feeding Therapist

How can I get my child to try a new type of food calmly?

Start long before the bite. Let your child touch, smell, and play with new food and keep it next to food they already like, so tasting stays your child's choice. Your child's feeding therapist does exactly this, in small steps, so tasting comes on its own.

Will feeding therapy help before my child starts school?

Starting before school often makes the biggest difference. A wider diet and calmer mealtimes now mean the school lunchroom feels far less stressful later. For younger children, our sessions are play-based, with food exploration built into every visit.

What if our family has never tried any kind of therapy before?

Your family does not need any therapy experience to start. The early visits are simply about comfort: exploring food through play, meeting the therapist, and easing into a routine at your child's pace. Many Buffalo Grove families start here as their first provider.

Meet Your Feeding Therapy Team

Pediatric therapists who help children eat more comfortably and take the stress out of mealtimes

Alyssa O., M.S., CCC-SLP

Feeding Therapist & Speech-Language Pathologist

Alyssa is a speech-language pathologist with experience in oral motor skills, sensory food tolerance, and picky eating. Sessions start with food your child feels safe with, then add the clinical goals, and she briefs the speech and behavior teams so wins carry across sessions.

Feeding Therapy

Chantal B., MS, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist

Chantal is an occupational therapist at our Half Day Road clinic who supports the sensory and postural side of feeding. She helps children tolerate new textures and sit comfortably through a meal. She also helps them handle utensils and cups with more control. She coordinates with the feeding team whenever sensory or seating challenges get in the way of eating.

Occupational Therapy

Self-Care Skills

Sensory Integration

Molly L., BCBA, LBA

Board-Certified Behavior Analyst

Molly is a board-certified behavior analyst at our Buffalo Grove clinic. She helps children build the confidence to say what they want and need at the table, which is often what turns a standoff into a manageable meal. She works with the feeding and speech teams so those skills hold up outside the clinic.

ABA Therapy

Mealtime Behavior

Parent Coaching

One feeding therapist sees your child. If you add speech, occupational therapy, or behavior support, those clinicians coordinate directly, so nothing gets lost between them.

Meet Your Child's Feeding Specialist. Schedule a Free Consultation.

Find Out If Feeding Therapy Is Right for Your Child

Tell us what mealtimes look like, and our Buffalo Grove team calls you back. We talk through whether feeding therapy makes sense, what your insurance covers, and how soon you could start.

Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove - Therapy Rooms at CST Academy

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Parent/Guardian Name*

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Service(s) Interested In*

ABA Therapy

Autism Evaluation

Speech, Occupational, Physical, and/or Feeding Therapy

Therapeutic Preschool

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What Buffalo Grove Families Say About Feeding Therapy at CST Academy

She was very impactful in working with our son to evolve his skills with chewing. He came a far way over the 4-5 months when we worked together.

Debbie L.

Feeding Therapy

We reached out when our daughter was struggling with her transition to solids. She made our daughter feel very comfortable and was also very comforting to me as a worried mom. She equipped us with several resources and tips and we saw great progression in just a few short sessions.

Puja B.

Feeding Therapy

My son graduated from CST last week. We used their services (ABA, SPEECH, OT, FEEDING, PHYSICAL) for 3 years. Our experience with CST was awesome, my Son's progress was very impressive and did reflect tremendously on a daily basis. His teachers at a Chicago public school were so impressed with his progress/performance.

Abdelkrim K.

Feeding Therapy

ABA Therapy

Speech Therapy

Occupational Therapy

Physical Therapy

1000+

5-Star Google Reviews

Insurance and Enrollment for Feeding Therapy in Buffalo Grove

Insurance Accepted

In-Network

Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO

Coming Soon

Aetna

Important Note About Feeding Therapy Coverage:

Illinois insurance rules generally require carriers to cover medically necessary feeding therapy for children. Many families with a BCBS PPO plan have low or no out-of-pocket costs depending on their plan. Our billing team verifies your specific coverage before the first session.

A Feeding Evaluation Is the First Step:

Before sessions begin, your child completes a play-based feeding evaluation at our Buffalo Grove clinic. It looks at how your child chews, accepts textures, and behaves at the table. The findings become the basis for the plan and how often sessions happen.

The First Small Win Is Closer Than You Think

You could see new food on the plate and calmer meals within weeks of starting.

Get Started Today

(773) 620-7800

Feeding Therapy FAQs for CST Academy in Buffalo Grove

Maybe your child lives on a few types of food, gags on new textures, or turns every meal into a struggle. If that sounds familiar, feeding therapy can help. Start with a short call to our Buffalo Grove team. We talk through what you are seeing and recommend an evaluation only if it matches what feeding therapy treats.

Feeding Therapy for Families Across the Northwest Suburbs

Our clinic on Half Day Road sits on Route 22, about three miles west of I-94. That puts feeding therapy within a short drive for most northwest suburban families. It is also easy to reach from the North Shore.

Buffalo Grove
2-5 min

Vernon Hills
5-8 min

Lincolnshire
5-8 min

Long Grove
5-10 min

Wheeling
8-10 min

Deerfield
8-10 min

Arlington Heights
8-12 min

Mundelein
10-15 min

By Car
From IL-21 (Milwaukee Avenue) heading north, turn east on Half Day Road (Route 22). CST Academy is on the south side of Half Day Road at 150. From I-94, exit at Half Day Road and head west. The clinic is roughly three miles west of the expressway.

Parking
Free on-site lot with dedicated family parking right by the main entrance.

By Metra
Prairie View Station on the North Central Service line is the closest stop, less than two miles from our clinic. The Buffalo Grove Station on the same NCS line is also nearby for families coming from the north.

Get Directions to Our Clinic

Feeding Therapy That Fits the Rest of Your Child's Care

Plenty of families come to us worn out from juggling separate clinics, with a different building for every therapy. No one keeps those providers talking to each other. What they want now is simpler. They want one place where feeding already fits into the bigger picture of their child's care.

We build the connection into the week. When your child's feeding therapist finds a texture strategy that helps, the occupational therapist can reinforce it. When the behavior team finds a way to keep your child seated and calm, feeding uses it at the next meal.

For you, that means one drive, one schedule, and one team that already knows your child. No more relaying messages between providers who have never met. For your child, it means faster progress, because nothing gets lost in the handoff.

One clinic that treats the meal and everything behind it, from sensory to behavior to speech

Your Child's Full Care Team in Buffalo Grove: