Brave Bites

Specialized Feeding Program

Brave Bites is a specialized feeding program for children ages 2–15 with Autism Spectrum Disorder and developmental delays who experience moderate to severe food selectivity. Using principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Brave Bites helps children expand food acceptance, improve mealtime behaviors, and build flexibility around eating. The program also equips caregivers with practical strategies to support progress at home and in the community.

Brave Bites is an evidence-based feeding intervention program designed for children ages 2–15 with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or developmental delays who demonstrate significant food selectivity. Many participants enter the program eating fewer than 20 foods, showing strong preferences for certain brands, textures, or presentations, and engaging in disruptive mealtime behaviors such as gagging, refusal, or rigidity.

Grounded in the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Brave Bites utilizes systematic desensitization, stimulus fading, and reinforcement-based shaping to gradually increase food flexibility, nutritional variety, and mealtime engagement. The instructional model includes visual supports, token systems, social stories, and individualized reinforcement strategies tailored to each child’s sensory profile and learning style.

Program Goals:

  • Increase acceptance of a wider variety of foods by texture, temperature, and category
  • Reduce escape-maintained behaviors such as spitting, gagging, or food refusal
  • Build tolerance and flexibility toward novel and non-preferred foods
  • Support caregiver confidence through structured coaching and carryover strategies
  • Improve oral-motor engagement and nutritional diversity within daily mealtime

Philosophy: “Reinforcing Progress,
One Bite at a Time.”

Brave Bites empowers families and children to approach mealtimes with more confidence, less conflict, and greater variety—helping each child build a healthier, more enjoyable relationship with food.

Key Focus Areas:

  • Food tolerance and gradual exposure (smell, touch, taste, swallow hierarchy)
  • Decreasing anxiety, escape behaviors, and sensory-related mealtime challenges
  • Increasing flexibility in brand, food preparation, and presentation
  • Emotional regulation and independence during meals (utensil use, pace, seating)

What to Expect from Brave Bites:

  • A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) will conduct a comprehensive intake assessment to:
    • Identify the function of food refusal and selectivity
    • Gather information on your child’s mealtime routines, sensory preferences, and behavioral barriers
  • During the first session:
    • The focus is on building rapport with your child
    • A preference assessment is conducted to identify effective motivators
    • The BCBA begins developing your child’s individualized treatment plan
  • Your child’s personalized plan will:
    • Outline session-specific goals and step-by-step strategies
    • Include home-based goals to support carryover and consistency
    • Be designed to match your child’s unique needs, pace, and progress
  • You’ll participate in weekly or biweekly caregiver coaching sessions, which will:
    • Provide hands-on modeling of feeding strategies
    • Equip you with tools to manage mealtime challenges at home
    • Increase your confidence and consistency in supporting your child’s progress
  • This collaborative model ensures:
    • Progress is made both in-session and at home
    • Skills are generalized to real-life settings like family meals, school lunches, or eating out
    • You are an empowered and active participant in your child’s feeding success

Admission Criteria:

This program is appropriate for children who:

  • Display moderate to severe food selectivity (e.g., fewer than 20 foods)
  • Exhibit rigid mealtime routines or brand-specific preferences
  • Demonstrate feeding-interfering behaviors such as tantrums, escape, or pocketing
  • Have ruled out active medical complications (e.g., dysphagia or GI concerns)

Admission is subject to available clinician capacity and successful completion of the intake assessment.

Exclusions:

  • Children with active medical complications (e.g., untreated dysphagia or severe GI issues) will require medical clearance before program admission.
  • Children who require swallowing study by a speech pathologist. 
  • Children who have not yet ruled out medical complications or barrier

Program Structure:

  • Frequency: 2–5 sessions per week
  • Duration: 45–90 minutes per session
  • Length: Typically 8 weeks, with progress-based reassessment
  • Parent Training: Weekly or biweekly caregiver coaching (in-person or virtual)
  • Generalization Days: Feeding practice in home, community, or peer-based settings

Contact us to determine if our Brave Bites program is right for your child’s specific needs.

Together, let’s empower children to embrace a positive mindset, build resiliency, and experience transformational growth.

Reach out today to speak to one of our experienced clinicians

Referral Information

Referrals will be considered from any interested agency or party including, but not limited to, inpatient units, outpatient programs, schools, county mental health clinics, private mental health practitioners, health professionals, patients and families.

If you would like to make a referral, please complete the referral form below and we will get back to you shortly.

If you have any questions, you may also reach out by phone to (610) 999-1908.

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