Our Scope of Practice:

Individuals with the following diagnoses may require Speech-Language Therapy (SLT) services:

• Alzheimer's Disease
• Aphasia
• Apraxia of Speech
• Articulation Disorders
• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)
• Cerebral Palsy
• Cerebrovascular Incident (CVI)/Stroke
• Cranio-Facial Disorders  e.g. Cleft Lip/Palate
• Dementia
• Developmental Language Disorders
• Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21)
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
• Dysarthria
• Dyslexia
• Dysphagia
• Edwards Syndrome (Trisomy 18)
• Epilepsy
• Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Fragile X Syndrome
• Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux
• Hearing Loss
• Huntington's Disease
• Hydrocephalus
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
• Infants with low APGAR
• Intellectual Disability
• Language Learning Disabilities
• Learning Disabilities
• Neonatal Difficulties e.g. Latching & Suckling
• Parkinson's Disease 
• Post-Laryngectomy
• Premature Infants
• Prada-Willi Syndrome
• Resonance Disorders
• Respiratory Disorders
• Right Hemisphere Disorder 
• Severe Acute Malnutrition  
• Speech Sound System Disorders
• Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder
• Stuttering
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) 
• Velopharyngeal Insufficiency 
• Voice Disorders

The list above is not exhaustive. 

Eating is not only a sensory-infused, enjoyable & social activity for many, but also a very important task in which we provide energy to fuel our bodies so that we may remain healthy. 

In order to eat, we need to be able to feed ourselves & swallow safely. 

Feeding refers to the development of feeding skills (such as an infant sucking from breast or bottle, eating from a spoon, chewing food & drinking from a cup). Simply put, an individual who experiences difficulty getting food from a plate to their mouth presents with a feeding disorder, 

Swallowing refers to the physiological & anatomical process involved in eating. 

Swallowing is a complex behaviour with  2 crucial biological features: 

• Movement of food from the oral cavity to stomach.
• Protection of the airway whilst eating.

There are 3 phases in swallowing: 

• Oral phase: Movement of the food from the oral cavity into the oropharynx.
• Pharyngeal phase: Movement of the food from the oropharynx into the oesophagus.
• Oesophageal phase: Movement of the food through the oesophagus into the stomach.

A swallowing disorder (also known as Dysphagia) refers to problems in 1 or more phases of the swallowing process. An individual who experiences difficulty getting food safely from their mouth into their digestive system presents with a swallowing disorder.

There are a number of individuals who have difficulties with eating (due to problems in feeding & swallowing) who therefore require our services. 

Individuals exhibiting the following benefit from our services:

• Breastfeeding difficulties (e.g. latching & the breath-suck-swallow pattern) 
• Prolonged eating time
• Food-related sensory aversions
• Food refusal
• Picky eating
• Disruptive mealtime behaviours 
• Restricted variety of foods
• Limited, excessive or variable appetite
• Weight loss
• Trouble accepting & swallowing different food textures/feeding utensils
• Extra effort/time needed to chew/swallow
• Leakage of food/liquid 
• Food becoming stuck in the mouth
• Coughing/gagging when swallowing
• Food coming out of the nose (nasal regurgitation) 
• Poor weight gain/growth 
• Recurring pneumonia (aspiratory) 
• Chest congestion after eating
• Having pain while swallowing (odynophagia)
• Gastro Oesophageal Reflux (i.e. stomach acid moves up the oesophagus to the pharynx causing discomfort) 
• Silent aspiration (often indicated by tears in the eyes, signs of distress & change in voice after swallowing)