Feeding & Swallowing
Aoyuan Li
Speech Therapist
Aoyuan was awarded the Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) Health Science Overseas Scholarship in year 2011, and subsequently graduated from University College London, with a Bachelor’s with first class honours in Speech Sciences in 2015. Aoyuan is currently registered under the Allied Health Professions Council.
Aoyuan started working at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) since 2015. As the team lead of the Neonatal Feeding Team, her work focused on the development of feeding skills in extremely premature infants and infants with complex medical diagnoses and needs, such as infants with tracheostomy, ventilator and oxygen support and tube feeding. Alongside the medical and nursing team, she supported infants and their families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Nursery (SCN), and continued to support their feeding and development progress in the outpatient clinics as these infants enter their toddlerhood.
She has worked with children up to 18 years old with complex medical needs and various medical backgrounds such as Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy, in multidisciplinary clinics and inpatient setting, collaborating closely with other members of the medical team such as dietitians and gastroenterologists to manage their feeding needs.
As a clinical educator, Aoyuan has trained junior speech therapists in the areas of neonatal feeding, and guided junior therapists in neonatal feeding. In recognition of her efforts, she was awarded the Singhealth ‘Associate in Education’ in 2021.
Aoyuan draws joy and motivation from working closely with caregivers to help achieve every child’s feeding potential. As a mother of 2 young children, she has experienced first-hand the anxiety and concerns over breastfeeding difficulties, bottling refusal, fussy feeding and growth concerns, and deeply empathise with caregivers on these issues and the challenges faced in overcoming them.
Aoyuan is trained in the following:
- Cervical Auscultation Training
- Supporting Oral Feeding in Fragile Infants (SOFFI) Online Course
- SOS Approach To Feeding
- Kim Barthel’s Eating and Feeding Matters: From Science to Strategy
- The Get Permission Approach to Anxious Eaters, Anxious Mealtimes
What Patients Say
Mother of Freya (3 years old)
We had a fantastic experience with our speech therapist, Ms Aoyuan Li. We are truly grateful for her support and guidance throughout Freya’s sessions at Magic Beans. Freya was a premature baby so we had a very hard time with her feeding as she was on oxygen support and NGT for over a year. In an attempt to wean off her NGT, we had to feed her blended porridge via syringe. Feeding did not come naturally for her and she struggled with accepting food near her mouth. By 2 years old, she was still not eating solid food orally. We are so happy to have engaged Ms Aoyuan for a feeding therapy, as less than a year into the therapy, Freya is now eating full solid and loving her food! When we first started the therapy, she was just eating soft biscuits and being fed via syringe. We realized that the approach of playing with food like BLW diet, is not very effective for a preterm baby with food aversion like Freya. With Aoyuan’s guidance, she patiently helped Freya unlock her eating skills, starting from learning how to chew to effectively move her tongue. After every session, we saw big changes in Freya’s eating progress. As she gains the confidence in chewing and swallowing her food, she is more willing to eat different food. She is now able to eat a variety of food and joins her friends for lunch at school! Ms Aoyuan’s knowledge, patience and personalized approach made a significant difference in addressing Freya’s feeding challenges. We really appreciate her dedication and patience. Thank you Ms Aoyuan and Magic Bean in helping Freya unlock her biggest milestone!
Mother of J (3 years old)
Ms Aoyuan is a fantastic doctor, the only one in Singapore who demonstrated a deep knowledge of our case and managed to work patiently, step by step. I wouldn’t exaggerate if I say it was a life changing experience to be her patient. Wish her and the clinic all the best!