Interventions presented in the survey
| Intervention | Description |
| Positioning | Ensuring a child has the best posture to eat and drink food safely and efficiently |
| Manoeuvres | Giving direct physical support to a child when eating or drinking to improve the movements needed to bite, chew and swallow |
| Oral-motor exercises | Exercises done with a child with the aim of improving their control of their mouth, jaw, tongue or lips |
| Medication | Any prescribed medicine that could affect eating and drinking |
| Schedule of meals | Setting the timing of mealtimes to encourage a child’s appetite and readiness to eat and drink, and establish a mealtime routine |
| Food or drink modification | Changing aspects of the child’s food or drink, such as the consistency, temperature, taste, amount or presentation |
| Modification of utensils | Using different spoons, forks, plates, cups or bottles |
| Modification of the environment | Changing the physical or social setting at mealtimes |
| Sensory aids | For example, glasses or hearing aids |
| Energy supplements | Any energy or calorie supplement given orally or via feeding tube |
| Training to wait for a child’s cues for feeding | Helping parents/caregivers to recognise the signs that a child is ready to take another mouthful of food or drink |
| Pacing of food at mealtimes | Changing the speed at which each mouthful of food or drink is taken by a child |
| Enhancing child/feeder communication strategies at mealtimes | Improving interaction between a child and the person feeding them during mealtimes |
| Modifying social eating and drinking opportunities | Any change in the physical environment or behaviour of others when children eat or drink in company |
| Hand-over-hand prompting | Physically guiding the child’s hand to encourage them to grasp or move food/equipment |
| Counselling | Collaboration between professional and parent to enhance understanding of causes, extent and impacts of eating and drinking difficulties and promote parents’ well-being |
| Desensitisation programme for food avoidance | Activities aimed at gradually introducing a child to new or previously rejected foods and drinks |
| Desensitisation programme for oral sensations | Activities aimed at reducing a child’s adverse reactions to different sensory experiences linked to eating and drinking |
| Sensory stimulation | Touch-based stimulation on and around the lips and mouth in an attempt to reduce sensory based eating and drinking difficulties |
| Sensorimotor therapies | Interventions focusing on both sensation (vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch and proprioception) and motor output for learning new skills |
| Sharing information on the impact of sensory difficulties on eating and drinking | |
| Sharing information on the impact of movement difficulties on eating and drinking | |
| Strategies/programmes aimed at changing behaviour at mealtimes | Strategies to encourage a child to behave appropriately at mealtimes |
| Visual supports | Use of pictures, a ‘countdown clock’ or social stories to increase a child’s understanding of what happens during mealtimes |
| Modelling | Giving a child the opportunity to learn from others by eating and drinking with them |