Najma Timms, Author at Resource Library - Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust

What is jaw tightness? Muscles can become tight when they are not being used very much. When muscles are stiff or tight, it can limit the range of movement. This can happen with the muscles of the mouth and jaw. Muscle tightness affecting the jaw is more likely to happen if your baby has a…...

What is imitation? Imitation is copying other people. It can include copying their: Actions, using objects, for example, shaking a maraca, rolling a ball Gestures and body movements, for example, clapping, waving Sounds and words Children use imitation right from being a tiny baby, throughout early...

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 can I do when someone wants to tackle their restricted diet? When children get older, they can become more socially motivated to challenge the way they eat. This is often when they start to feel that their restricted diet is getting in the way of doing things they want to do, like going...

What is overfilling? When some children eat, they may put too much food in their mouth. This can include putting another mouthful or bite in before they have finished the last one. It can include putting the whole of a food in their mouth, like a whole cake bar. This can increase their risk...

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...

Please read all the information below before you reduce the thickener in your child’s drinks at home. Thickening drinks is a common strategy for supporting children who have feeding problems. Many children can tolerate having less thickener in their drinks over time, when it is safe to do so. Your...

What does positive mealtimes mean? It is important for mealtimes and snack times to be a positive experience for everyone. Your child will start to learn that food times are not stressful times if they remain predictably positive. It can be helpful to think about your child as a whole: What sort of...

What is messy food play? Messy food play is a way of supporting children to explore different smells or tastes through play. The focus is on exploring food in a positive way, offering your child some control around food and having opportunities to explore food without pressure. It is important to...

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...

What is exploring food? Children and young people who find eating difficult can benefit from exploring food at a level where they are comfortable. For young children this can look like messy food play, but for older children and young people we can look at exploring foods in a different way. Why...

All babies get full and want to stop the bottle feed at times. Bottle feeding aversion is when your baby is not interested in bottle feeding. This can be not wanting any at all, or they only want a little bit each time and refuse to have very much. Some very aversive babies get very… Continue...

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Your Speech and Language Therapist will provide you with the right speech sound pack for your child. You can work through the activities at home to help your child practise their speech sounds. Each pack will focus on saying one sound at a time in a specific position of the word such as beginning,...

Why do we use a Doidy or flexi cup? When children drink from a cup they have to learn lots of new things such as: how to move liquid from the front to the back of their mouth how much to tip the cup how much liquid is enough but not too much Doidy cups… Continue Reading Doidy cups and flexi...

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This series of videos explains why we use shapes and colours to support children’s spoken language and literacy development in the Speech and Language Therapy Service in Sheffield. The videos below demonstrate how to use the Sheffield shapes and colours system and have been created by Jaime...

Information for Parents and Carers Who are we? We are a team of Speech and Language Therapists and Assistants who see children and young people in specialist schools and integrated resources (IRs). What do we do? We help children and young people with: Speech, language and communication needs...

Background From September 2023, children and young people will access the Speech and Language Therapy Service through episodes of care. This means they will be open to us when they need specific support, but closed during times when their needs can be met by the support in place in school and at...

A series of posters created by Abed Ahmed, Mr ST @stammer_teacher, on what stammering is and what you can do to support young people who stammer. Abed is a teacher with a stammer who helps young people who stammer. Abed has given us permission to share these posters on the Sheffield...

A training video that outlines the role of everyone who is involved in ensuring safe, nutritive, and quality mealtimes for children and young people. This advice is for teaching staff in specialist provision – specialist schools and integrated resources. Delivered by Sally Twigg (Speech and...

A training video that will help to familiarise you with the written feeding plan, known as a mealtime mat. Delivered by Rachel Ward (Speech and Language Therapist) Time: 2:30

A training video that explains the IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative) levels and uses practical examples of how you can ensure foods and liquids are the correct texture. Delivered by Larissa Naylor and Rachel Nunn (Speech and Language Therapist) Time: 34:00 IDDSI Level 0...