About Us
Regina Lleras M.S. CCC-SLP, Owner of Food Exploring Speech
I am a certified speech-language pathologist with over 15 years of experience across in-home, clinical, and preschool/school-based therapy settings. My career began as a special education preschool SLP, where I witnessed firsthand the importance of empowering children to explore and enjoy food. Today, I specialize in feeding and stuttering therapy, offering personalized, compassionate support for picky, sensory-sensitive, or anxious eaters. I guide children through food exploration, expand their food variety, and foster positive mealtime habits in individual or small group settings.
As someone who stutters, I am passionate about providing client-centered support for individuals who stutter and the families and professionals who support them. My approach combines training, education, and therapy rooted in empathy, lived experience, and evidence-based practice.
My therapy is family-centered, collaborating closely with clients and their families to create treatment plans that address individual needs and connect carryover to home and community environments. I also enjoy speaking at professional events, including college programs and school districts, on topics related to feeding, food exploration, and stuttering.
My personal experiences as a former picky eater and a person who stutters have shaped my career and drive my passion for helping others communicate confidently and enjoy new foods.
Food Exploring Speech specializes in “discovering tastes for picky plates” – including the following services
(virtually, home or office)
Stuttering
- Neurodiversity (say the word
fluencystuttering) - How to be a Stuttering Ally
- Stuttering Therapy Goals
- School (self-advocacy, peer interactions, ways to participate)
- Professional / Work-based (mock interviews, team meetings, disclosure and advocacy)
- Community (ordering food, making phone calls, asking questions etc.)
- Stuttering Resources
Speech Language
- Articulation / Phonology (PROMPT trained)
- Tongue Thrusts / Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT)
- AAC / iPad communication therapy & programing
- Gestalt Language Processing (GLP)
- Expressive language skills (responding to questions, vocabulary development, sentence development)
- Receptive language skills (following directives, processing skills)
- Pragmatic / Social language skills
Food Exploring
- Review the Steps to Eating
- Use visuals and various tools / manipulatives to make exploring food a fun experience
- Introducing solids
Feeding/Swallowing
- Assess Oral Motor Skills
- Techniques to improve biting and chewing
- Strategies to modify food textures or eating habits to make swallowing easier and safer
- Support for straw and cup drinking
- Support for pill swallowing
Parent Training / Coaching
- Review Division of Responsibility
- Set up for success before mealtimes
- Strategies on how to present preferred and non-preferred food items
- Tips to avoid food jags
- Food Chaining
- Beginning Solids
- Bottle/Breastfeeding
- Provide referrals for additional support (OTs, PTs, vision therapists, airway-centric dentists, ENTs, or oral surgeons)
- Collaborate with specialists to further assess functional impact of Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs)
We take a food exploring journey based on Dr. Kay Toomey’s Steps to Eating SOS Approach (Sequential Oral Sensory). It is a widely recognized method for helping children develop healthy eating habits, particularly those who struggle with food aversions, sensory sensitivities, or feeding difficulties. The approach focuses on helping children become comfortable with food in a step-by-step manner, addressing both the sensory and emotional aspects of eating. It is commonly used in therapy and with children who have difficulties with feeding, eating, or food acceptance. This approach is modified to meet the overall feeding needs of each food explorer.
The “division of responsibility” in feeding, developed by Ellyn Satter, is a strategy where parents are responsible for what, when, and where a child is offered food, while the child is responsible for how much and whether to eat it, helping them develop healthy eating habits.
Save the Date & Register!
The goal of these workshops are to improve feeding skills, reduce sensory aversions, and build social and communication skills in a supportive, low-pressure environment. Therapy also focuses on strengthening mealtime routines and behaviors while empowering parents and caregivers with the tools and confidence to support progress at home.
CONTACT:
e-mail: foodexploringspeech@gmail.com || Phone: (516) 729-8726
Instagram: @foodexploringspeech & @youcanstutterwithme
Located within Bloomspace at Blue Point
20 Montauk Hwy Blue Point, NY
Food Exploring Speech PLLC 