We are a small Team of Specialist Speech and language Therapists who provide a service for babies and children where there is a concern about the safety of swallow and / or oral-motor eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties, or for babies and young children (under 18 months) where there may also be concerns around sensory- aversive eating, drinking and swallowing issues.
We work in partnership with families and carers and other agencies. Referrals can be made to the service by local Hospitals, Paediatricians, other Speech and Language Therapy Teams, Health visitors, Children’s Community Nurses and other Healthcare Professionals, GPs, Education settings and others.
We may visit your child in setting or at home or may invite you into clinic. This will depend on your child’s age and needs. We work in partnership and are committed to supporting children and their families through assessment and by providing advice and support and information needed to support the children.
We currently follow an episode of care Model. An Episode of Care will be different depending on the child’s needs at that time.
Before completing a referral into the team, please refer to the referral criteria for eating, drinking and swallowing (ADD LINK)
Referrals from professionals are required to have appropriate supporting evidence including observation of the baby/child eating, drinking, and swallowing, detail of the presenting difficulties AND evidence of previous advice and targeted support provided and impact of this.
Each referral is dealt with on an individual basis and will be screened/triaged against our service criteria. Please note that completing a referral is not automatic acceptance of the referral by our service.
For Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Services in Huddersfield please contact the Children’s Therapy Department on 01484 344299
Feeding your baby - Start for Life - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Weaning - Start for Life - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Tongue-tie and bottle feeding - Start for Life - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Top tips to get your fussy toddler to eat - BBC Tiny Happy People
Reflux and bottle feeding - Start for Life - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Nutrition for toddlers and pre-schoolers
How to care for children with complex needs - Social care and support guide - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
SENSORY PLAY TOOLKIT - Home (weebly.com)
