Supporting Your Child and You to Overcome Feeding and Swallowing Difficulties

Feeding and swallowing difficulties can feel overwhelming.

As a parent or carer, mealtimes should be a source of connection - not stress. If you’re struggling with feeding, whether your child has complex medical needs, or not, you’re not alone - I’m here to help.

I’m Sarah a Clinical Specialist with over 25 years’ experience supporting babies, children and young people with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties (also known as Dysphagia or Paediatric Feeding Disorder PFD). I offer kind, clear and evidence based assessment and therapy. I’ll help you understand what’s going on and how to make mealtimes safer and more manageable.

In a world full of online advice and opinions, I can help cut through the noise and guide you to the information and approaches that match your baby, child or young person’s needs and skills.

I also offer IEMT and / or Hypnotherapy to support your emotional wellbeing.

Contact me to discuss how we can work together.

What I can help with:

✓ Babies and children who cough, splutter or refuse feeds

✓ Babies and children with unexplained, recurrent chest infections

✓ Children who avoid certain textures or gag on food

✓ Mealtime anxiety or distress

✓ Concerns about choking or aspiration

✓ Feeding and swallowing difficulties linked to medical conditions such as cardiac or respiratory or structural differences like cleft palate or Tracheosophageal Fistula/Oesophageal Atresia (TOF/OA), laryngomalacia, syndromes, prematurity or developmental delays.

What to expect:

✓ A detailed, child-centred feeding assessment

✓ Clear explanations without jargon

✓ Personalised strategies

✓ Liaison with your wider healthcare team

How we work together:

✓ Home visit (depending on location) or online sessions UK wide

✓ Written plan + follow up support

✓ One-off assessment or therapy block

✓ Written report if required

✓ Ongoing coaching support if you would find this helpful

Next steps:

Contact me to arrange a free 15 minute call. We can talk through your hopes and concerns, then plan an appropriate package of assessment and support to meet your and your child’s needs.

Fees for support with feeding and swallowing may vary depending on the complexity of your child’s needs between £200-£350 of full initial assessment, ongoing support between £95 and £150 per hour.

Happy 5 yr old boy with Downs Syndrome eating food using a fork
Gentle image of baby breastfeeding
Peaceful scene of toddler sitting in highchair being fed by their mother

My Approach:

I work together with you to offer calm, compassionate support to help you understand what’s happening and what might help. My approach is rooted in clinical knowledge, experience, holistic family-centred care and joint decision making.

“No pressure, no judgement - just calm, expert support tailored to your family”

peaceful baby bottle feeding holding parent's hand

Whether you’re

  • managing breast/bottle feeding stresses,

  • worried about how your child is feeding, chewing or swallowing,

  • introducing solids/weaning and would like some support and guidance,

  • or addressing much more complex medical difficulties or structural differences,

I’ll work alongside you with thoughtful guidance, practical strategies and emotional reassurance.

I will assess your child’s feeding and swallowing skills, offer advice and feeding therapy for babies, children and young people, where appropriate, and signpost to other services when needed. My support is designed to fit your family - no pressure, no judgement, just calm expertise and care.

Emotional support for parents and carers of children with feeding challenges

It’s not just about clinical advice - it’s about you, too. Feeding challenges can leave parents feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or unsure of themselves. I offer coaching, IEMT Integral Eye Movement Therapy and Hypnotherapy to help you manage your stress and emotions in difficult situations.

“Feeding difficulties don’t just affect your child - they affect you too”

Coaching, Hypnotherapy & IEMT

After many years of working in the NHS supporting babies, children with feeding and swallowing difficulties and their families, I found supporting families through listening and talking through these challenging times has helped enormously. To take this further, I now offer emotional support beyond simply listening and talking to parents, carers and extended family members.

IEMT & Hypnotherapy

These can be offered as a stand alone service if you have found aspects of life or parenting overwhelming and sometimes struggling to control your emotions in the moment with your toddler.  It can also be helpful to improve your sleep and reduce general anxieties in other areas of your life.

Testimonials - Support for eating, drinking & swallowing difficulties

  • Parent - 18month old

    “Feeding is the one thing we feel as mothers we can do naturally and when that doesn't happen it can be extremely tough for all…. Having someone who has experience to guide you when you have a child with rare or complex conditions is vital as you don’t know what you don’t know. Every time we review together things have improved from then on. … My child has come on leaps and bounds and wouldn’t have done this without Sarah’s support.”

  • Parent - 3yr old

    “We have lost count of the ways we have changed things to help from changing bottles, messy play, adapting textures based on my child’s feeding and also adapted my behaviours around mealtime too. It has increased my understanding of types of food, [importance of] correct seating and foot rest ….”

  • Parent - 2 yr old

    “Sarah Vellacott’s visits always have such a postive impact on us as a family. She is so understanding and reassuring and a real problem solver…. after every appointment I feel more positive….and come away with practical things to try and new foods/feeding techniques to explore - we’d be lost without her!”

  • Parent - 5yr old

    “Sarah went out of her way to make sure my daughter had the best treatment and aids”

  • Parent - 8 month old

    “Sarah’s support has been fundamental [to my child’s progress] I can honestly say a support we would have been lost without.

  • Parent - 3yr old

    “Sarah always offers solutions based on my child’s structure and breathing and eating habits. As this has continuously evolved so has the feeding plan, it has always been adapted and tailored to him and has been invaluable for us all.”