Evidence based mealtime management: strategies for carer and support staff engagement

Presented by Chantelle Hutchinson and Anna Coates

Webinar overview 

Swallowing Awareness Day is on Wednesday 18th March 2026 and highlights the critical role speech pathologists play in supporting people with swallowing difficulties. 

In this 1.5 hour webinar, you’ll learn how to develop practical mealtime management plans for people with swallowing difficulties living in the community. This workshop focuses on supporting carers and support workers to safely assist at mealtimes, bridging the gap between dysphagia assessment and everyday implementation. We’ll explore the essential components of a functional mealtime plan, how to clearly explain your clinical reasoning around swallowing safety, and strategies to build confidence and buy-in among the care teams responsible for carrying out your recommendations. 

Learning outcomes

1. Identify commonly encountered risks in community settings and explain how these impact safe mealtime support by carers and support workers.
2. Develop a practical, person-centred mealtime management plan. 
3. Translate dysphagia assessment findings into clear, actionable recommendations that carers can understand and consistently implement 
4. Recognise common barriers faced by carers and support staff when managing swallowing difficulties in the community and apply strategies to address these challenges. 
5. Use strategies to foster engagement from the care team.

Target audience

Speech pathologists. All levels of experience are welcome to attend. 

Workshop details 

• This is a LIVE workshop, held online via Zoom
• This workshop will run for 1.5 hour, including time for Q & A at the end 
• This workshop will be recorded. A recording will be available to all attendees and available to purchase on demand. If you do not wish to have your audio or video recorded, please keep your camera off, mic on mute and contribute via the chat box

Workshop date

Monday 16 March 2026 

Workshop start times

VIC/NSW/ACT/TAS: 12pm

QLD: 11am

SA: 11:30am

NT: 10:30am

WA: 9am

Co-presenters

Chantelle Hutchinson is a speech pathologist and casual academic with nearly 15 years experience working with adults with neurological conditions and developmental disabilities. Chantelle developed a special interest in dysphagia six years ago when she was involved in developing and launching a community-led Videofluroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS) service in Melbourne in 2021.

Chantelle has certification in the Dysphagia Disorders Survey (DDS) and the McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP), and has completed a 12-day intensive dysphagia course in 2023 led by Maggie-Lee Huckabee. Chantelle is the Founder of Dysphagia Bites and offers dysphagia courses and free resources for community-based therapists. You can find these resources through her instagram: @dysphagiacommunity.

Anna Coates is an experienced speech pathologist working in disability with clients across the lifespan. Anna has worked privately, in schools and at a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with an interest in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with complex communicators and dysphagia. Anna is DDS/Dysphagia Management Staging Scale (DMSS) certified and has completed mealtime plans for clients with behavioral mealtime issues, complex swallowing and eating and drinking at risk. She also regularly undertakes training for support worker staff on how to make modified meals and drinks and provides supervision for other speech pathologists in mealtime management. Anna is interested in how the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation (IDDSI) works in a community setting and where the risk lies and how IDDSI works with clients who have eaten outside the guidelines with family and incorporating this into safe mealtimes.

Disclosure

AGOSCI is grateful to Chantelle and Anna for presenting this workshop to the AGOSCI community. 

AGOSCI acknowledges that differing views and opinions may be discussed throughout this webinar and may not always align with AGOSCI philosophies.

AGOSCI is an independent body and does not endorse individual products or brands.

AGOSCI acknowledges the presence and contributions of all suppliers and resources available in the Australian and International AAC marketplace.

Registration and cancellation policy

Updated May 2025

Registration is only confirmed upon full payment of fee. Please note total ticket price will include an additional $0.69 + 0.7% per transaction service fee. To access the discounted rate for members you must be logged into your AGOSCI member account prior to registration. 

• 100% refund minus the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction) until 60 days before event
• 50% refund minus the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction) between 8-59 days before event
• No refunds within 0-7 days before event start date
• If the event is cancelled by AGOSCI you will receive 100% refund including the service fee ($0.69 + 0.7% per transaction)

Applications for registrations are subject to final approval by AGOSCI to ensure fair and equal access to events across organisations. Waitlist registrations will be taken upon all positions being filled.