2026 Supporting Disabled Children with Complex Dysphagia | November

Who Should Attend

Allied health professionals working with disabled children with complex feeding needs. Download brochure HERE

Presumed knowledge: foundational skills in paediatric feeding assessment and intervention (covered in our Responsive Feeding House Model Workshop).

By the end of the two-day workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Apply a systems approach to understand the complexity of dysphagia in disabled children.
2. Identify which standardised feeding assessment tools to use in different populations.
3. Support children who use enteral feeding, including safe oral feeding opportunities where appropriate and tube weaning with a DT.
4. Understand medical, respiratory, and gastrointestinal factors impacting dysphagia decision-making for disabled children.
5. Identify aspiration risks and determine when to refer for VFSS or FEES.
6. Work collaboratively with an OT around seating, positioning, and self-feeding equipment to support safety and independence at mealtimes.
7. Implement dysphagia interventions, including chewing development, cup and straw progression, and texture modification using the IDDSI framework.
8. Apply trauma-informed and relationship- based feeding practices for disabled children and their families.
9. Support oral hygiene and saliva management to improve health and safety.
10. Demonstrate ethical and safe practice, including EDAR.
11. Work effectively within a multidisciplinary team to create mealtime management plans.