If you have concerns about a child or young person's eating and drinking skills, fill in a referral form.
We support children with eating and/or drinking difficulties. The medical term for difficulties related to eating and/or drinking is dysphagia.
Signs of eating and/or drinking difficulties include:
- coughing on drinks, medication or other liquids
- coughing or choking on food
- difficulties with chewing skills, including preferring softer foods or taking longer to eat
- difficulties sucking on bottle, breast or straw
- unexplained chest infections
Signs of swallowing difficulties include:
- coughing
- gagging
- wet breath sounds or other changes to breathing
- eyes become pink or watery
- facial colour change
- looking like they're struggling to swallow or taking extra swallows
What we do not support
- Sensory-based eating difficulties, such as gagging on or refusing to eat specific foods. The advice is aimed at parents of toddlers, but it can be useful for older children too. If your child has an occupational therapist and/or dietitian involved, please speak to them for advice.
- Restricted diets, including avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder. Please speak to your GP or paediatrician about making a referral to a dietitian and/or the CAMHS and learning disabilities team. Get advice on selective eating.
- Difficulties with weaning to solids in babies who do not have additional physical, medical or developmental needs. Please speak to your health visitor, GP, or visit the Start 4 Life website.
What happens at a dysphagia assessment?
Your child will be seen at either your home, a clinic, or their educational setting by a speech and language therapist. Inpatients will be seen in hospital. The therapist will take a case history and observe your child eating and/or drinking.
Following the assessment, your therapist will write a report with recommendations and will discuss sharing this report with any other professionals who may be involved in your child's care. You and the education or care setting may also receive a mealtime plan to describe your child's feeding recommendations in detail, such as positioning and textures to be offered or avoided.
What happens after assessment?
Depending on your child's needs, they may be offered a follow-up appointment to monitor progress with the recommendations. The case may also be closed with the option to re-refer if required.
If your child has longer term difficulties with eating and/or drinking, they will be closed when they have the appropriate personalised mealtime plan to ensure that they are able to eat and drink safely, with the option to re-refer if required.