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Many people with intellectual disability live with swallowing, eating, and drinking difficulties (dysphagia). People living with both intellectual disability and dysphagia may require a range of supports in order to have the opportunity to participate in different eating and drinking environments of their choice. Understanding the nature of those supports is important to ensure that people with intellectual disability living with dysphagia can continue to create a good life for themselves at home and in their community. This study aimed to identify the nature of supports provided to people with intellectual disability and dysphagia when eating and drinking in different environments, as described in the published literature. A scoping review, underpinned by an a priori protocol, was conducted by a team of four reviewers. Four databases were searched. Sixteen papers were included for full‐text review. The review identified that studies most frequently reported support in the form of safety strategies to prevent the ill‐health consequences of dysphagia and training carers in those safety strategies by speech‐language pathologists. To a much lesser extent, studies identified the psychosocial needs of people with intellectual disability and dysphagia and how these were being considered in the design of training support. Overall, this review identified a significant need for future research into supports for eating outside the home and collaboration with people with intellectual disability and dysphagia about dysphagia training content which reflects the experience of living with dysphagia in social community environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few assessment tools objectively measure chewing skills in the paediatric population. There is a need for assessment tools that use consistent foods so comparisons can be made between typically developing children and children with paediatric feeding disorders, and to measure the efficacy of treatment. The Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids for adults (TOMASS) and children (TOMASS-C) are assessments that use a cracker as a consistent measure to assess chewing skills. Normative data exist for children over 4 years, however, no data are available for younger children. This study investigated age and gender-related differences in mastication skills in typically developing children aged 2–3 years when eating a cracker. Thirty participants aged 2;0–3;10 were assessed using an adapted version of the TOMASS-C. Participants were required to eat a single Arnott's Salada cracker, and the number of bites, masticatory cycles, swallows, and duration of time to finish the cracker were measured. Two-year-old children used more masticatory cycles and took longer to finish the cracker than 3-year-old children. There were no significant effects of age on the number of swallows and number of bites, and no significant differences between boys and girls. This study provides preliminary normative data for chewing skills in children aged 2 and 3 years and confirms that the TOMASS-C is sensitive to developmental changes in mastication within this younger age range. These results expand our understanding of oral motor and chewing development in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]