What Is the Circles to Feeding™ Approach? An Introduction for Therapists
Feeding therapy is a complex area of practice. With so many overlapping factors – oral skills, sensory experiences, medical conditions, and mealtime relationships – it’s easy for speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other health professionals to feel overwhelmed or fragmented in their approach. What’s often missing is a clear map to guide the way.
That’s why I developed the Circles to Feeding™ Approach – a responsive feeding therapy model that helps therapists navigate this complexity with clarity, while keeping the child’s comfort and connection at the centre.
In this post, I’ll share a high-level overview of the approach: what it is, why it matters, and how it supports children and families to move toward Feeding Freedom.
Redefining Mealtime Success as Feeding Freedom
Not every child’s feeding journey looks the same. Traditional definitions of “success” often focus only on caloric intake or skill acquisition (e.g. eating certain foods, drinking from certain cups). But mealtime success can’t be defined by a single endpoint – especially for children with diverse needs.
In Circles to Feeding™, we’ve redefined success as Feeding Freedom:
Feeding Freedom occurs when a child and their caregiver(s) engage in emotionally and physically nourishing mealtime experiences based on the child’s own individual capacity, internal motivation, and nurturing relationships.
This broader definition recognises that feeding therapy isn’t about ticking boxes – it’s about creating safe, meaningful, and growth-oriented experiences for every child.
The Three Layers of the Circles to Feeding™ Approach
The Circles to Feeding™ Approach is built on three interconnected layers, guiding therapists in both their priorities and their practice.
1. Priorities for Progress
This level helps us meet the child’s needs and identify what must come first in therapy.
It includes three key priorities:
- Comfort – “I need to feel safe & secure.”
Children need systemic, relational, and environmental comfort before learning can happen. Comfort lays the foundation for progress. - Curiosity – “I need to feel curious.”
Once comfort is established, children can enter “learning mode” – exploring new foods, tastes, textures, and experiences in small, safe steps. - Capability – “I need to feel success.”
Here, children build skills and competence, from oral-motor coordination to self-feeding abilities, gaining confidence in what their bodies can do.
These three circles are not a straight line – they overlap and interact, giving us a way to sequence therapy while remaining flexible to each child’s needs.
2. Pathway for Practice
If Priorities for Progress are the what, the Pathway for Practice is the how. This layer maps out the therapy process – from assessment, to formulating a plan, to intervention, to review and adjustment.
It gives therapists a framework for clinical decision-making, while still allowing for responsiveness and individualisation. In Circles to Feeding training, we go deeper into the specific skills needed at each step, but at its heart, this layer ensures therapy is both structured and adaptable.
3. People for Partnerships
Finally, the Circles to Feeding™ Approach recognises that feeding therapy doesn’t happen in isolation – it happens in relationship. The People for Partnerships layer highlights the importance of collaboration:
- The child, whose individual needs, cues, and readiness guide the process
- The family, as partners and co-regulators in mealtime experiences
- The therapist, bringing reflective practice and specialised knowledge
- The broader network, including medical and allied health professionals who form part of the child’s care team
By strengthening these partnerships, we ensure therapy is family-centred, sustainable, and impactful.
The Foundations Behind Circles to Feeding™
Circles to Feeding™ draws on multiple influences:
- Responsive feeding therapy
- Family-centred practice
- Infant mental health
- Trauma-informed care
- Neurodiversity-affirming practice
- Strengths-based practice
It’s also informed by self-determination theory, evidence-based practice, and Suzanne Evans Morris’ “4Cs” for therapy priorities.
The result is an approach that is both grounded in evidence and deeply practical for everyday therapy.
Why Circles to Feeding™ Matters in Feeding Therapy
Too often, feeding therapy jumps ahead to food exposure and skill-building without first establishing comfort and then curiosity. Circles to Feeding™ ensures that progress is sequenced and child-led.
It provides a roadmap for therapists, while keeping the child’s experience at the centre. And it gives families a sense of hope – because success is not narrowly defined, but reimagined through the lens of Feeding Freedom.
Final Thoughts: Moving Toward Feeding Freedom
The Circles to Feeding™ Approach is more than a model – it’s a way of rethinking feeding therapy. By focusing on comfort, curiosity, and capability; mapping out the pathway for practice; and centring relationships, we can more confidently support children and families on their journey to mealtime success.
