A feeding assessment generally takes place at a regular meal or snack time in your home or in your child’s nursery or school setting. It is important that your child’s Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) see a typical mealtime, so we ask that you serve food that you would usually serve and respond to your child’s feeding in the usual way. There will be forms for you to fill out before the appointment to help your SALT learn about your child’s feeding and developmental history and time during the appointment to discuss your current concerns.
Areas Assessed
There are multiple aspects of feeding and mealtime that your SALT will be looking at when observing your child and talking with you about mealtimes. Areas assessed include:
- Positioning: What is your child’s preferred position when eating and are they able to achieve postural stability.
- Oral Motor Skills: Functional movement of your child’s jaw, lips, and tongue during feeding and non-feeding activities.
- Functional Feeding Skills: The skills your child uses to manage the food and drink offered. This may include their latch and suck (if breast or bottle feeding), lip closure, biting, chewing & jaw movements, tongue movements, and self-feeding skills.
- Swallow Safety: Your SALT will assess for any signs of a swallowing difficulty.
- Sensory: How your child responds to the different sensory propreties of foods and mealtime.
- Preferred and Non-Preferred Foods: How your child responds to their preferred foods as well as how they respond when offered a new or non-preferred food.
- Mealtime Participation: How your child participates in family meals.
What Happens During the Assessment?
Your child’s feeding assessment ideally will take place during their usual snack or mealtime. Assessments can be at home, nursery or school; it is important your SALT see a typical mealtime for your child.
Your SALT will watch your child eat and drink and will ask that you eat with your child (if that is your usual routine). Please have a variety of food flavours and textures available to offer your child during the assessment including foods your child regularly eats as well as some non-preferred and new foods.
How Do I Prepare My Child?
- Let a young child know that a person will be coming to the house during their mealtime to talk with mummy or daddy.
- Tell an older child that a SALT is coming to the house or school during a mealtime to gain a better understanding of their eating and why some foods are easier to eat than others. The SALT will talk with them about what foods they like and don’t like and may ask them to try some new things. If your child is not comfortable trying a new food during the assessment, it is important they let their SALT know. Your child will never be made to taste or eat a food if they are not comfortable doing that.
- Your child will find it easiest to participate in the assessment if they are rested and hungry (but not overly hungry). Please try to schedule your child’s feeding assessment during a usual snack or mealtime and avoid arranging an appointment during a nap time. Don’t skip meals leading up to the assessment to encourage hunger.
What Happens After the Assessment?
Following the assessment session, your SALT will collate the information and analyse what was observed during the feeding assessment as well as what was reported by you. A written report will be provided to you detailing the assessment findings and recommendations for next steps. Once your receive your child’s feeding assessment report, your SALT will be happy to talk with you about any questions you have regarding assessment findings or recommendations.
For more information about a feeding assessment or therapy with South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy, please get in touch. Sign up for our newsletter if you would like weekly posts about children’s speech, language and feeding sent directly to your inbox.