Feeding Support Clinic- Ayati Centre- Services we offer
The Feeding Support Clinic provides services for children who have or are at risk of developing swallowing and/or feeding difficulties. Our goal is to facilitate child-centered feeding, while maintaining swallow safety and meeting the child’s nutritional and hydrational needs. Further, the team works in partnership with parents and families to support the child to achieve the highest level of feeding-related quality of life by offering individualized intervention.
Who are in need of the Feeding Support Clinic?
Infants,
- who were born prematurely
- with medical complications such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, neonatal sepsis, neonatal seizures, laryngoesophageal fistula, or congenital heart disease
- who refuse breast feeding and/ or are unable to swallow safely
- with poor weight gain/ malnutrition/ failure to thrive
Children,
- with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy
- with sensory-based feeding difficulties who refuse particular food consistencies and/ or are unable to take age-appropriate food consistencies
- who have a restricted diet with a limited range of food or food aversions
- who show signs of discomfort or pain during and/ or after mealtimes
- with poor weight gain/ malnutrition/ failure to thrive
services we offer
- In-person and/or telehealth sessions
- Observations of mealtimes at home (via telehealth or video recordings with parental consent) and at clinic in order to support healthy and safe feeding environments for the child
- Comprehensive assessments of oro-motor function, feeding behavior, swallowing physiology and parent-child interaction during mealtime
- Diagnose feeding related difficulties in children
- Conduct combined multi-disciplinary team sessions for holistic management of feeding difficulties
- Provide recommendations for safe swallowing, while maintaining nutritional and hydrational needs of the child
- Support children to develop feeding behaviors for improved quality of life
- Guide and support parents/ caregivers throughout the intervention programme on facilitating mealtimes with communication-rich environments
- Empower parents/ families with knowledge to identify signs of swallow risk, alternative feeding management, feeding techniques and swallow safety etc.
- Make referrals to gain professional support for collaborative management
Our Team
Our team consists of a range of professionals working together to provide optimal care for children and their families. Obviously, children and their families play a key role in our management. Speech-language therapists offer individual therapy to manage feeding and/or swallowing difficulties with the support of nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists and paediatric neurologists.
When is the clinic?
- Monday: 8.00am-4.00pm
- Tuesday: 8.00am-4.00pm
- Wednesday: 9.00am-4.00pm
- Friday: 8.00am-4.00pm
How to get an appointment?
Appointments are given at the reception desk of the Ayati Center. You can book an appointment by calling the center.
How to prepare for your initial or review appointment?
- Please bring some food items from the child’s current food regime. Try to bring in a range of his/ her preferred food items.
- With older children, please explain the nature of the clinic before the visit for active participation of the child
- Please bring the utensils (spoon, bottle & teat) that the child uses for feeding at home
- When using a specialized chair/ seating arrangement for feeding at home, please bring it if possible or take a photograph of the chair
- Please be at the reception 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment for completion of paperwork
- Please remember, the feeding session may take longer depending on the needs of the child
- Primary feeder or the caregiver of the child is encouraged to attend the sessions
- As the team may require your child to eat or drink during the session, please make sure that the session is scheduled at a time close to the child’s mealtime
- Please adhere to all the COVID-19 related safety guidelines instructed by the center
