High-intensity supports
A Guide to Dysphagia Support
Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing. It can mean a person has difficulty eating, drinking or swallowing.
A person with disability is more likely to experience dysphagia if their disability affects their brain, spinal cord or nervous system, and people of any age (including young children) can experience dysphagia.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) considers Dysphagia Support to be a High Intensity Daily Personal Activity. This article will explore what Dysphagia Support involves and how the NDIS defines and funds this support.
What is Dysphagia Support?
Various supports are available to help a person with disability manage their dysphagia in the way they want and need.
Health professionals such as doctors link people through the health system (covered by Medicare) to run tests (such as to diagnose dysphagia) and connect with other health professionals for ongoing support.
Speech Pathologists oversee development of a person’s mealtime management plan which outlines how someone should safely eat and drink and train the person’s informal supports and Support Workers in their disability-related dysphagia supports.
Support Workers can provide support during mealtimes, which may include following the person’s mealtime management plan to ensure safe and enjoyable mealtimes. Support Workers may prepare or modify food, fluids or the person’s environment as outlined in their mealtime management plan.
How to make mealtimes more enjoyable
“Being in the tube-feeding space, mealtimes can all feel a bit medical. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done around feeding Arlo. There’s a lot that needs to be prepared."
Writer Mel Dimmitt describes how she makes mealtimes fun for Arlo, her seven-year-old son who requires dysphagia support.
Dysphagia Support and NDIS funding
The Australian health system provides treatment for dysphagia for everyone. The NDIS funds Dysphagia Supports if they’re related to someone’s disability, such as if someone’s disability means they have trouble eating, drinking or swallowing.
The NDIS may fund equipment, technology or devices to help someone eat or drink, thickener products, Support Workers to help someone eat and drink safely if they can’t do this themselves because of their disability, and Speech Pathology.
Dysphagia Support is a Disability Related Health Support. You can learn more about Disability Related Health Supports on the NDIS website.
What is a Mealtime Management Plan?
Also called an Oral Eating & Drinking Care Plan, mealtime management plans outline how a person can eat and drink safely. This plan is tailored to the person’s needs, preferences and their environment. It includes information about:
- Texture of diet: The consistency/thickness level for food and fluid required to ensure safe swallowing and mealtimes.
- Positioning during mealtimes and environmental set-up: How the person should be positioned and how their environment should be set-up to support safe swallowing during mealtimes. This might include modified cutlery or utensils.
- Supervision level: what involvement a Support Worker needs to have during mealtimes.
- Swallow strategies to ensure safe mealtimes
- Medication administration and oral health
Who Writes a Mealtime Management Plan?
A Speech Pathologist will develop the plan.
Writing a mealtime management plan is a team effort, bringing together the person with disability, their family, support workers and other services (such as recreation, education or employment).
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