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– Emily Lively –
Qualifications:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
BAppSc (Speech Pathology)
Member Speech Pathology Australia (PSR)


Emily has worked within paediatric inpatient, outpatient and community speech pathology since 2000. Over the last 20 years she has specialised in infant and paediatric feeding difficulties, working at both hospital and community settings in country South Australia, the United Kingdom and metropolitan Adelaide. For 3 years she worked for and built up a private clinic in London for children with Down Syndrome (feeding and communication assessment and therapy). Prior to establishing Lively Eaters in 2010, Emily commenced her own paediatric private practice in 2005 and provided assessment and therapy for general speech and langauge delays and disorders, Autism and Asperger assessments, children with complex medical and development disorders and feeding difficulties.  Until the end of 2012, Emily concurrently held the position of Senior Paediatric Speech Pathologist at Flinders Medical Centre responsible for feeding services in the Neonate unit, paediatric ward, paediatric out patient clinic, Child Assessment Team and cleft palate clinic. Her passion for assisting children with feeding difficulties and their families led to the development of a private centre in 2010 specialising solely in this area.

Emily’s experience includes extensive work within multi-disciplinary teams focusing on child development. She successfully completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD – Flinders University, SA) in 2023, researching within paediatric feeding and enteral tube weaning.  She has lectured and been a tutor to the Bachelor of Speech Pathology degree at Flinders University (Adelaide, South Australia).  Emily has been involved in writing problem based tutorials and lecturing at the University of Queensland.  She has undertaken additional training in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sensory Processing difficulties (including oral sensory defensiveness), paediatric videofluoroscopy (swallow study), infants in the Neonate Intensive Care Unit and Special Care Baby Unit, cleft palate/lip and specific feeding interventions. Emily provides feeding therapy training workshops to parents and professionals and has presented at International conferences including ASCIA, ASMR, the 8th Nordic Conference on Feeding Difficulties in Childhood, Singapore and Speech Pathology Australia.

Emily believes feeding on its own cannot be assessed or addressed without looking at the complex interaction between the family environment, behaviour, medical, sensory and developmental skill. Mealtimes are a family-centred experience and are the foundations upon which Emily supports parents and carers to embrace and facilitate their child’s abilities and development. She prides herself on an holistic assessment and thereaputic process that considers all of these factors to ensure the best possible outcomes for successful mealtimes within the family setting.  Emily continues to be motivated, excited and amazed by the outstanding intervention outcomes achieved in both the Lively Eaters centres and our unique Lively Eaters intensive family-centered feeding therapy programs.  The children, babies and families continue to teach her so much.

Emily’s work has been published in the esteemed Journal of Paediatric Gastroenterolgy and Nutrition, the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and Child:Care, Health and Development: