Passionate – Dedicated – Professional

Passionate – Dedicated – Professional

supporting families through difficult mealtimes

The Feeding Clinic supports families experiencing stressful or difficult mealtimes with the aim of helping children enjoy food and create happy mealtimes. Our feeding team work with families by helping parents create a plan for confidence at home while also providing direct therapy which can help your child feel more comfortable around new food.

Conditions or concerns we help with

  • Stressful Mealtimes

  • Babies finding it difficult to transition to solids
  • Restricted eating including limited range of accepted foods or anxieties around new food
  • Difficulties with biting/chewing/swallowing

  • Dietetic concerns including weight management, constipation, dietary intake and diagnoses requiring dietetic support

If any of These Sound Familiar, You’re in The Right Place

  • Dinner is a battle – we all dread it

  • My child gags on lumps or wont chew meats

  • My Baby is finding transitioning to solids tricky

  • All they eat is “Beige” food and refuse to try new things

  • They drink lots of milk and then skip meals

  • I’m worried about iron, growth or constipation

  • I feel like I’ve tried everything- nothing works!

Our Approach

Relationship‑based. Family‑centred. Strengths‑focused.

We work with your child’s cues and your family’s rhythm.

Listen first. You’re the expert in your child. We start by understanding your wins, worries, and what a “happy mealtime” would look like for you.

Observe & assess. We look at skills (bite size, tongue/lip control, chewing), posture, sensory needs, and emotions around food.

Plan together. We co-create a simple home plan using Responsive Feeding based around your goals and what mealtimes currently look like in your family.

Coach with care. One‑to‑one parent coaching + targeted child therapy to build skills and confidence.

Team around your child. We coordinate care and, if needed, liaise with your GP/Specialists

Measure tiny wins. We celebrate progress, one confident bite at a time, and adjust the plan as your child grows.

FAQ

Many toddlers go through a fussy phase. Seek support if variety is very limited, there’s weight/growth concern, frequent gagging/choking, or mealtimes feel consistently distressing.

Gagging is usually noisy and protective; choking is quiet and needs urgent action. We’ll teach you the signs and help build safe chewing skills.

Both have benefits.

Spoon‑feeding (purees) can help babies practice taking food off a spoon, forming a small mouthful, and safely swallowing. It’s also an easier way to offer iron‑rich foods early on.

Baby‑Led Weaning (BLW) lets babies explore food of appropriate textures at their own pace, build self‑feeding skills, and get comfy with textures (hello, mess!).

A combined approach (purees and BLW) often gives you the best of both: responsive spoon‑feeding + safe finger foods, so babies get practice with skills and exploration. We’ll help you choose what fits your baby.

While hidden veg can help nutritionally in the short term, it is important for children to see and know the veggies are there to build trust and learning.

Check out the full blog here

If your child frequently coughs, gags, or refuses certain textures, our Speech Pathologists can assess swallowing safety, oral‑motor skills, and recommend texture/liquid modifications if needed. Early support reduces stress and risk.

Every child is different. Most families notice tiny wins within weeks (less stress, a lick or nibble of something new), with bigger changes building over time.

Sometimes you will be asked to bring your child and some food for your therapist to observe a mealtimes, other times, our first appointment is parents only. Our reception staff will let you know what your first appointment will entail. If you have growth records, these are very helpful and your appointment confirmation email will have a form which provides you the opportunity to complete some background information prior to your appointment.

Passionate – Dedicated – Professional

Understanding Fussy Eating

With Lauren Pike & Dr Kyla

Listen in as Lauren chats with Dr Kyla on her Mealtimes podcast. Lauren and Kyla go way back to their days of house calls and working with families to understand their challenges around mealtimes. Lauren and Kyla chat about different types of eating behaviours in children and Lauren shares some of the current commonalities she sees in the clinic.

Listen in and discover:

  • Reflecting back on our time working together
  • Commonalities between fussy eaters
  • Regular fussy eating presentations in Lauren’s clinic
  • The stress of focusing too much on food intake and weight
  • Understanding the “I don’t want it” toddler
  • Why beige foods can feel like safe options
  • Introducing curiosity and wonder about foods
  • Minimising your child’s overwhelm during mealtimes

Passionate – Dedicated – Professional

Feeding Clinic Team

Our multidisciplinary team includes Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapists, Dietitians and Psychologists. All clinicians are experts at supporting fussy eating and feeding challenges. If we identify a more specific need during our assessment, we refer inside our team, as we all work together under one roof – so you care stays coordinated and seamless.

While all of our team can provide support to parents and children for fussy eating they also have some specialist roles:

Speech Pathologists (Feeding & Swallowing): oral‑motor skills (tongue/lips/jaw), safe swallowing, texture/liquid modifications, transition from tube to oral feeding.

Dietitians: nutrient adequacy, iron‑smart planning, appetite patterns, gentle milk adjustments, constipation support.

Occupational Therapists: sensory regulation, seat/posture/setup, utensil skills, mealtime routines.

Psychologists (as needed): anxiety‑informed strategies, reducing pressure and fear for both child and parent.

lauren pike

Senior OT, Head of Feeding Service

lauren pike

Lauren is very passionate about helping families feel more confident in feeding their child. It is her passion to create a judgement free space where she can work with both the child and their parents to create a routine that develops not only skills and progress in a mealtime, but family joy as well.

BSc Occupational Therapy (hons).

PD:

  • The Feeding Relationship and Eating Competence by Ellyn Satter
  • Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding
  • Babble and Munch: Infant Feeding Foundations
  • Melanie Potock: Your Feeding Tool Kit
  • Melanie Potock: The Anxious Eater
  • Sandhya Menon: Autistic Affirming Care
  • Responsive Feeding Therapy Conference
  • Making Sense of Mealtimes

Lauren has worked in paediatrics since graduating OT in 2008. She quickly became interested in feeding and worked on various Government feeding teams in both disability and developmental delay. For the past seven years, Lauren has focused solely on feeding therapy and has extensive experience in working closely with families in this area. In 2022, Lauren joined Western Kids Health and set up the multi-disciplinary Feeding Clinic here.

Lauren has experience in working with children of a wide range of ages. She can support your family with babies who are finding it difficult to transition to solids, and fussy children of all ages from toddlerhood to late teens. She is able to support families who have a few questions on fussy eating and want to get on the right track, all the way to supporting children who only eat a couple of different foods.

brooke penny

Accredited Practising Dietician

Currently on Maternity Leave

brooke penny

Brooke is a caring and compassionate dietitian, working collaboratively with children and parents to develop practical and achievable solutions to their food and diet concerns. Brooke also works as part of the multidisplinary feeding team, helping toddlers through to teens to expand their diet and feel confident at mealtimes. Brooke’s ultimate aim is to alleviate the stress around food and make mealtimes an enjoyable experience.

BSC Nutrition, Masters of Dietetics,

  • Certificate in Paediatric Nutrition and Dietetics Unit 1 – Royal Children’s Hospital
  • Monash University Training – The Low FODMAP diet for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • ARFID Masterclass – Melanie Potock

Brooke graduated Curtain University in 2018, she worked with adults in the hospital and community settings before finding an interest in paediatrics. She has been part of the Western Kids Health team for 4 years.

Brooke also volunteers with the OnTrack program run by ADHD WA

Brooke’s area of special interests include:

  • Fussy eating / food aversions
  • Growth faltering / weight management
  • Gastrointestinal issues (IBS, constipation)
Amelia Bell

Senior Speech Pathologist

amelia bell

Amelia’s approach to intervention is about empowering and upskilling families to support their children’s communication.

Amelia works with your child and your priorities and works hard to ensure therapy is tailored to your child.

Amelia’s therapy is always based around FUN and engaging activities so children feel excited and happy when coming to see her.

Graduated from Curtin University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science (Speech Pathology).

Professional Development in

  • Sounds Write – First Rate Phonics
  • Lidcombe Program- stuttering intervention
  • Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding
  • Talk 4 Writing Intervention
  • Hanen – It Takes Two to Talk

Amelia possesses a comprehensive background in paediatric speech pathology, encompassing various presentations such as developmental delay and disability. Her expertise extends to specialized areas including spelling and literacy intervention, mealtimes, early intervention for children below 4 years of age, language skills encompassing both understanding and expression, stuttering, speech sound delay and disorder. Additionally, Amelia has garnered experience in supporting the assessment and prescription of alternative communication devices.

Prior to graduating from Curtin University, Amelia served as a disability support worker, offering invaluable assistance to a young family with a child experiencing disability. Following her graduation, she transitioned to a role as a sole trader within a private practice setting, honing her skills and expertise. Subsequently, Amelia transitioned to a paediatric NDIS provider, specialising in catering to children with vision impairments, further enriching her breadth of experience in paediatric speech pathology.

Amelia’s special areas of interest are within early intervention, specifically children who are ‘late talkers.’ She enjoys working closely with children and their family to ensure parents feel empowered to support their child’s communication. Amelia is passionate about making therapy meaning to each child and their family.

Matilda Retz

Dietician

Matilda Retz
Matilda is a dietitian who is dedicated to supporting individuals in developing a healthy relationship with food. She works with children, families, and individuals to help them achieve their mealtime and nutrition goals in a way that is sustainable, empowering, and tailored to their unique needs.

Matilda takes a multidisciplinary approach to care, working closely with other health professionals to create positive and meaningful mealtime experiences. She is especially passionate about creating safe and supportive environments where children can feel confident exploring food.

Outside of work, you’ll find Matilda enjoying time at the beach or out and about with her friendly Labrador, Billie.

Bachelor of Science in Nutrition, Master of Dietetics at Curtin University (2019)
Matilda began her career working with adults in both hospital and residential aged care settings. These early experiences gave her a solid grounding in clinical nutrition and patient-centred care.

She later discovered a passion for working in the disability sector, where she has supported clients from toddlers to adults to achieve a variety of nutrition goals. Matilda’s experience spans across home, community, and clinic-based settings, where she has worked collaboratively with families and other professionals to deliver holistic and practical nutrition support.

Matilda has a wide range of clinical interests, particularly in:

· Fussy eating and mealtime support

· Coeliac disease management

· Growth faltering and weight management

She is passionate about helping families feel confident around mealtimes and building positive, long-term habits that support both nutrition and wellbeing.

Rowena Mackiewicz

Senior Speech Pathologist

Rowena Mackiewicz
Rowena is a paediatric speech pathologist with extensive experience across many diverse settings from private practice to disability providers and child development services. She has enjoyed time managing multidisciplinary allied health teams and supporting the next generation of therapists clinically and in managing their working life. Rowena has always found her time working directly with families to be what has kept her engaged and inspired. She loves to learn new things in both work and her personal life.
Rowena’s approach to therapy is playful, warm and responsive.
Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing science)

  • Member of The Feeding Lab
  • Perth Children’s Hospital SIMS paedatric dysphagia training
  • Evidence Based Oral-Motor Feeding Therapy, Next Bite Therapy
  • Babble and Munch Foundations of Feeding Training
  • SOS feeding
  • Hanen Training (It takes two to talk, More than Words, Talkability)
  • Complex Trauma Training
  • Secret Agent Society Social Skills Facilitator
  • Jasper and ESDM introductory level
  • Key Word Sign presenter
  • ACT therapy
Rowena graduated from Curtin University over 30 years ago and has dedicated her career to paediatric speech pathology. She began by supporting children with phonological, language, and literacy difficulties, before moving into the disability sector where she focused on working with autistic children and their families, supporting them from early diagnosis through to upper primary and beyond. Over the years, Rowena has developed extensive experience in paediatric feeding, continually updating her knowledge and skills in this area. She is a valued member of the feeding team at Western Kids Health, where her warmth, expertise, and collaborative approach make her a trusted clinician for families.

Rowena brings a responsive, relationship-based approach to feeding therapy, combining practical strategies with thorough oral–motor assessment to help children develop the skills they need to eat safely and confidently. She works closely with families of tube-fed babies transitioning to solids and collaborates with medical specialists when required. Rowena has particular expertise in supporting children who experience challenges with:

  • Moving from puree to solids
  • Gagging on lumps or mixed textures
  • Overstuffing or taking bites that are too large
  • Delayed chewing or difficulty developing rotary chewing patterns
  • Safely swallowing food and fluids

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