Services
Feeding Clinic
Safer feeding. Better nutrition. More positive mealtimes.
Safer feeding. Better nutrition. More positive mealtimes.
Feeding is a complex skill involving the coordination of movement, breathing, swallowing, positioning, sensory processing and nutrition. When one or more of these areas is difficult, eating and drinking can become challenging, tiring or unsafe.
Children may cough or choke when eating, have difficulty chewing or managing different textures, take a long time to finish meals, struggle to coordinate breathing and swallowing, or be at increased risk of food or fluid entering their airway. Others may have difficulty progressing through feeding stages, rely on tube feeding or require modified foods and fluids to eat and drink safely.
Feeding difficulties can also involve sensory sensitivities, strong food preferences or distress around particular tastes, textures, smells and mealtime experiences. Whatever the reason, feeding difficulties can affect a child's safety, nutrition, growth, participation and enjoyment of mealtimes, while creating significant worry and pressure for families.
Feeding difficulties can look very different from one child to another. Some signs are obvious, such as coughing or choking, while others can be easier to miss. If eating and drinking regularly feels difficult, unsafe, exhausting or stressful for your child or family, it may be worth having their feeding skills assessed.
Your child may benefit from feeding support if they:
A child doesn't need to be coughing or choking for there to be a feeding concern. Changes in breathing, fatigue, unusually long mealtimes, avoiding certain textures, recurrent respiratory illness or difficulty progressing through feeding stages can also warrant further investigation.
If you're unsure whether what you're seeing is something to be concerned about, you don't need to work that out on your own. Our feeding team can help determine whether an assessment is appropriate and which discipline is the best place to start.
Feeding is never just about food – that's why we bring the team together.
Feeding difficulties rarely sit neatly within one area of development. Swallowing safety, oral motor skills, nutrition, posture, movement, sensory processing, equipment and the mealtime environment can all influence a child's ability to eat and drink.
BOOM's Feeding Clinic brings together Speech Pathology, Dietetics, Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, with the disciplines involved depending on what each child actually needs.
Our clinicians can assess and problem-solve together, share observations and develop coordinated recommendations with families. This means feeding isn't considered in isolation. We look at the whole child and the factors that may be making eating and drinking difficult, while avoiding families having to coordinate separate services themselves.
Feeding and swallowing safety
Our Speech Pathologists take the lead in the assessment and management of paediatric dysphagia. They consider how a child uses their lips, tongue, jaw and oral structures to manage food and fluids, alongside chewing, swallowing, breathing coordination and overall feeding safety.
Intervention is individualised around the child's abilities and may include:
Nutrition, growth and feeding
Eating safely is only one part of the picture. Children also need enough energy, fluid and nutrients to support their growth, development and health.
Our Dietitians work closely with the feeding team to understand what a child is currently able to eat and drink and whether this is meeting their nutritional needs. This is particularly important when food choices or textures are restricted, feeding takes significant effort, or a child receives some or all of their nutrition through tube feeding.
Dietetic support may include:
Making eating easier to access and participate in
A child's ability to feed is influenced by much more than what happens in their mouth.
Our Occupational Therapists look at the skills and environment around eating, including a child's upper limb function, independence, sensory responses, seating, equipment and ability to participate in the mealtime routine.
For children who find particular textures, smells, tastes or sensations difficult, OT can also help understand how sensory processing may be influencing their feeding experience.
Occupational Therapy may include:
Creating a stable foundation for feeding
Good feeding starts with good positioning.
For some children, maintaining the head, trunk and pelvic stability needed for eating and drinking can require significant effort. Muscle tone, postural control, respiratory function, fatigue and physical asymmetry can all influence a child's ability to maintain a safe and effective feeding position.
Our Physiotherapists work alongside Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy to consider the physical foundations needed for feeding.
Physiotherapy may include:
Small changes at mealtimes can create big 
moments.
Not every child needs every discipline.
Being a multidisciplinary Feeding Clinic doesn't mean your child automatically sees four therapists.
Some children may primarily need Speech Pathology for swallowing assessment and intervention. Others may benefit from Dietetics, Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy being involved because nutrition, sensory processing, positioning, equipment or physical function is contributing to their feeding difficulties.
The advantage of BOOM is having that expertise available within one connected team, so we can bring in the right people when they add value.