Resource Library

What is behaviour? Behaviour is the way somebody acts. Young children experience huge changes in their development, during this time their behaviour can be difficult for adults to manage. Tantrums are part of normal, healthy child development and are very common up to 4 years of age. Why does...

This resource is about family based treatment with the Sheffield eating disorder assessment and treatment team (SEDATT). What is family based therapy? Family based treatment is (also known as the Maudsley approach) well evidenced as a treatment for anorexia. It is an intensive outpatient approach...

What is the neuro-oncology therapy team? The neuro-oncology therapy team is made up of: occupational therapists physiotherapists therapy assistants We provide rehabilitation, treatment and advice to children and young people after an injury, illness, surgery or treatment. We work to support children...

What is pouching? Sometimes when eating, children can hold food in their mouth or pouch it in or around their cheeks. Children can hold food in their mouth for a few minutes or sometimes even longer, before trying to eat it. Holding food in the mouth for longer can increase the risk of choking....

What is food aversion or restricted diet? People with food aversion or restricted diet can find eating challenging or unenjoyable. They may not have chewing and swallowing problems, but sometimes we can see many types of eating difficulties in the same person. What does it look like? They may: avoid...

Why does my child struggle to chew? Children may have difficulties with chewing for 2 reasons. It may be developmental, and they are just not ready. Children need to be offered food which is appropriate for their level of general development. This might not be the same as their actual age. It may be...

Why is this programme important? This is for children who have already completed trampette programme 1 who want to progress motor coordination further. You must have worked on trampette programme 1 for at least 4 weeks before moving onto trampette programme 2. Use this programme 3 to 4 times each...

What are Speech, Language and Communication Needs? Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) is a broad umbrella category and label which applies to people with any type of communication difficulty or communication vulnerability. What is a language disorder? A language disorder is a diagnosis...

What does saliva do? Saliva (spit) helps us to: clean our mouths taste food and drink get food ready for swallowing and digesting Why does my child drool? Young children and some older children may drool a lot. They do not start to control drooling until they can: keep their head upright keep their...

Why do some children struggle to move on to lumpy food? There are a number of reasons why children struggle to accept lumpy or textured food. These include: Development This means they are just not ready. Children need to be offered food which is appropriate for their level of general development....

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) may have difficulties understanding spoken and written language. It’s often hidden and sometimes harder to identify than a difficulty with talking, but it is important to recognise as it affects a child’s learning and development. What do...

What does having a learning disability mean? A learning disability is an overall impairment of intellectual ability causing difficulty with learning and everyday activities. It affects someone for their whole life. To diagnose a learning disability professionals need to show: impaired intelligence,...

Did you know that DLD is predicted to affect 7.6% of children and young people in the general population? This is more common than autism, however, DLD is not as widely known about. What is DLD? DLD stands for Developmental Language Disorder. Having DLD means that you have significant, ongoing...

Did you know that DLD is predicted to affect 7.6% of children and young people in the general population? This is more common than autism, however, DLD is not as widely known about. What is DLD? DLD stands for Developmental Language Disorder. Having DLD means that you have significant, ongoing...

What is DCD? Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common disorder affecting movement and coordination. DCD causes a delay in learning new activities. People with DCD may perform less well in daily activities and education. DCD is a life-long condition and symptoms will have first been...

Mental health and feelings Door43 Door43 offers support for 13 to 25 year olds on a range of emotional wellbeing issues in a young person-centred environment. The service focuses on early intervention and low-level support and is not a specialist mental health service. The staff at Door43 are not...

At the safeguarding support unit (SSU) and the sexual assault referral centre (SARC), we offer a range of services to help you. Please note, children can say ‘no’ to examinations at any time, and we will never force children to be examined. Child protection medical assessments Do you...

Sheffield Children’s offers a service to help children who have eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. Our speech and language therapists who specialise in supporting families with eating, drinking and swallowing are based within the early years, schools and special schools speech and...

The feeding and swallowing team assess children’s eating, drinking and swallowing. The team advise on the safety of children’s swallowing and provide strategies and advice to help with eating, drinking and swallowing. The team sees: children who have complex needs which affect their eating and...

We know from research that eating disorders can mimic a variety of mental disorders until the body and brain are adequately nourished. Therefore, establishing consistent dietary intake is the first line of treatment after the diagnosis of an eating disorder. However, if your named clinician feels...

Before the appointment Please think about any important things you might want to tell us about your child’s speech, language or communication skills. If you have examples of your child’s speech or communication, you might want to write them down to bring along to the appointment. It can be a...

Children with developmental difficulties, for example autism, often have problems with eating. Research has shown that 40 to 80 percent will have problems with food at some point. This can range from children who over eat, to children who have restricted diets. As parents or carers, it may be really...

What is auditory processing? Auditory processing is the ability to break down speech (strings of sound) up into words, groups of sounds and individual phonemes. The problem is not with hearing, but with making sense of what you are hearing. What is it like to have an auditory processing difficulty?...