Your disability may mean you need low-cost assistive technology to help you eat and drink as independently as possible.
Low-cost assistive technology for dysphagia includes things like adaptive cutlery, plate guards, sticky mats and plugs to attach plates to a table.
Low-cost items are easy to set up and use. They are available from local suppliers or non-disability specific retailers.
If low-cost assistive technology meets the NDIS funding criteria, we can include it in your plan.
Learn more about low cost assistive technology.
What if you need thickener products?
A speech pathologist might recommend thickener products which thicken food or fluids to help you to swallow, eat and drink safely.
Thickener products can be added to most foods and drinks, so you can have a range of food and drink choices. They’re the most cost-effective way to thicken food and fluids.
The amount of thickener you need will depend on the thickness of food or fluid your speech pathologist recommends. Your speech pathologist will assess how thick you need your food and drink to be
The International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative Framework includes four levels of thickness for fluids.
These are:
- slightly thick
- mildly thick
- moderately thick
- extremely thick.
The amount of thickener you need will also depend on whether you can take in food orally, which means through your mouth. Or if you feed through enteral feeding.
Enteral feeding is a different way of getting your food and drink at home. It's used when you can’t eat or drink through your mouth. It can be a nutritional supplement drink, thickened fluids or a special formula given by a tube into the stomach or bowel.
You may also use a combination of oral and enteral feeding. If you have a combination, you’ll generally need smaller amounts of thickener.
Your speech pathologist will describe this in the assessment report they develop for you.
We’ll use reports from your speech pathologist to work out how much funding for thickeners to include in your plan. Your speech pathologist can use our Nutrition and dysphagia assistive technology supports assessment template or write their own report.
This will include the amount of thickener product you need.
Learn more about enteral feeding in Our Guideline - Nutrition supports including meal preparation.
What if you need someone to help you to eat or drink?
You might need someone to help you to eat or drink if you can’t do this yourself because of your disability.
This could be a family member, carer, friend, or a support worker. If you need support from someone else, we may include funding for:
- a support worker to attend training for up to 2 hours per year on the specific dysphagia support needs described in your mealtime management plan
- training for the people who help you with your day-to-day dysphagia support and care.
We may also include funding for a support worker to help you with:
- your mealtime management plan
- swallowing therapies as recommended by a speech pathologist