Feeding Therapy Australia

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Sydney, NSW
Feeding Therapy Australia

Owned by Valerie Gent ('s Eat! Feeding Therapy) and Debbie Alvarez ( Kids Sydney)

06/06/2026

✨Supporting Disabled Children with Complex Dysphagia✨

It's always an honour to hear Kate Headley speak, she challenges you to think broader when supporting children with complex dysphagia.
Her thoughts come from extensive experience supporting children and adults with complex communication and swallowing needs across rural and regional NSW.
Her work spans direct clinical support as well as leadership roles where she has helped shape person‑centred, co‑designed resources, training, and government consultation to improve disability practice.

Kate is known for creating workshop talks that are engaging, practical, and grounded in real‑world experience which is the kind of learning that clinicians can take straight into their everyday work.
We are thrilled to have Kate presenting at our upcoming Disability Feeding Workshop, where she will share her expertise in supporting children with complex dysphagia and the systems around them.

📅 Dates: 16TH AND 17TH NOVEMBER 2026 (Online only)
🎟️ Tickets: On sale via our website on: https://feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au/workshops-all/

01/06/2026

Sensory and feeding go hand in hand.
If a child is not feeling regulated, they are not in a state where learning about new foods can happen. So as a therapist, understanding a child’s window of tolerance helps you recognise signs of overwhelm and respond in ways that support regulation.

❗This is why collaboration with Occupational Therapists is so important. By working together, we can learn how best to co-regulate with children in sessions, creating the safety they need to stay engaged, explore food, and build new skills.

📢We are so excited to have Bec Penfold joining us again at our 3-day Responsive Feeding House Model Workshop this year. Bec shares practical strategies that therapists can immediately apply in feeding sessions.

📅 Dates: 2nd – 4th September 2026
🎟️ Tickets: On sale via our website on: https://feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au/workshops-all/

28/05/2026

Struggling with paediatric feeding cases?

You’re not doing anything wrong—you just haven’t been taught a responsive, evidence informed approach yet.

Join us for our 3 day Responsive Feeding House Model workshop where you will feel:
✨Confident in your clinical reasoning
✨Be able to support kids without pressure
✨Build trust at the table (and beyond)

It’s the training we wish we had starting out.
Now it’s here for you.

www.feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au

25/05/2026

When working with neurodivergent children in feeding therapy:

✨ Be mindful of individualising all your therapy strategies.

✨ Continue to challenge yourself not to put a neurotypical lens on it.

✨ Talk to neurodivergent people to increase your understanding of feeding differences and accommodations that could be made to support their well-being and mental health around eating.

Interested in learning more? Join us at our upcoming 3 day Responsive Feeding House Model workshop on 2nd – 4th September 2026, where you will hear from therapists who share their own stories and experiencs with working and raising neurodivergent children with feeding differences.

📍Tickets now on sale on our website (online and Face-to Face in Sydney):

https://feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au/workshops-all/

23/05/2026

✨Involving Parents in Feeding Therapy✨

I love moments like this...a parent and child making a spring roll together, using the foods that already feel safe.🫂

This wasn’t about getting a bite. It was about helping the child explore a social‑inclusion food they will see regularly at their local Chinese resturant

🫶But the deeper part of this session was parent coaching. Supporting the parent to practise the language that invites curiosity without slipping into pressure. Learning how to notice, pause, and follow the child’s lead so food stays safe, not stressful.

This is why involving parents matters so much IN your therapy sessions. When parents feel confident in knowing how to support without pushing, children feel safe enough to explore. And from that felt safety, intrinsic motivation begins to grow👩🏽‍🍳

22/05/2026

A little moment from one of our sessions that reminded me why letting go of the plan matters✨

📌This child spent the whole time crushing Cheerios, watching the dust fall, trying it again, and again. It looked simple, but it was real learning - sensory play, cause and effect, and slowly feeling comfortable with something new, all in their own time.

When we drop our agenda and take the pressure away, curiosity shows up. The goal does not have to be eating. Sometimes the goal is simply connection, exploration, and enjoyment👏

💖This is the heart of following a child’s lead. When we trust where they are, sessions soften. Children show us what they are ready for, and the work becomes lighter, more creative, and more meaningful.

🎯Often the most important progress begins right here - with play, exploration, and permission to simply be with the food.

20/05/2026

IT’S HAPPENING - my final PhD study is officially live, and I need your help.

If you use Responsive Feeding Therapy (RFT) in your work, this is your chance to help shape a resource that will support future generations of therapists learning to implement RFT with their clients/families.

All you need to do is complete two short surveys: one now, and one in about two months.

This study reviews an RFT checklist that we have developed by bringing together findings from my three previous PhD studies, plus input from an expert steering committee.

Now I want to hear from you: Does it reflect your RFT practices? What’s missing? What needs to change?

• If you’re keen to be part of this, you can read the Participant Information Sheet and begin Round 1 here: 🔗 https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_55aS0DAahOHwcU6

• I need to get 100 therapists worldwide to join us – can you share this with your RFT colleagues?

This study has been approved by The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval Number: 2024/HE002309).

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions:
[email protected]

Thank you, truly, for helping build something that will support our whole community of RFT.

Val Gent
PhD candidate at The University of Queensland

15/05/2026

❓What do we mean by a systems approach?

It is the lens we use to support therapists in understanding how a child’s multiple diagnoses can shape their feeding. 🥣 Rather than looking at feeding in isolation, we explore how different body systems interact, how each one contributes, and how this presents uniquely in the child in front of you.

Because feeding is never just one thing. 👉Curious to learn more?

🌐🗓Join us this November for Supporting Children with Complex Dysphagia — a fully online workshop featuring five expert presenters, each sharing their perspective on the complexity of paediatric feeding.

Tickets are available now! 🔗 Link in bio

09/05/2026

Decision making and paperwork- are you considering EDAR when you support children with disabilities?

For children with disability with complex dysphagia, conversations around eating and drinking, including decisions about unthickened fluids and tricky foods like bread and hot chips, can be incredibly nuanced.

EDAR is not simply about signing a waiver. It is about balancing safety with the dignity of choice and what matters most to the child and family.

These decisions require critical thinking, respectful communication, and strong multidisciplinary collaboration. There is no “one size fits all” approach.

Join us at our upcoming 2-day online workshop:
Supporting Disabled Children with Complex Dysphagia
📅 16–17 November 2026

Speech Pathologist and Dysphagia Specialist Kate Headley will guide delegates through practical conversations around EDAR, risk feeding, unthickened fluids, and family-centred decision-making in paediatric dysphagia care.

Tickets can be purchased through our website: www.feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au

06/05/2026

It’s been a BIG day of teaching but we love it! Today Val presented a one day workshop to allied health professionals working in the Mid North Coast Health District.

This team was successful in applying for a HETI rural Grant which enabled our team to present to them on breastfeeding, bottle feeding difficulties and supporting transition to solids in infants.

What a lucky job we have- supporting therapist in paediatric feeding, while still in tracksuit pants 😉 - doing the job we love every day!

Val and Deb

Address

Sydney, NSW

Website

http://www.feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au/

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