Feeding & Swallowing
Desiree Lau
Speech Therapist
Desiree is a Speech Therapist who has a passion for children with feeding and swallowing difficulties. She started her career in 2007 and specialised in the area of feeding and swallowing in paediatrics during her career at KKH. She was the Head of the Speech Therapy service at KKH. Apart from being a clinician, Desiree is currently also a Senior Lecturer at the Singapore Institute of Technology since 2020, lecturing undergraduate Speech and Language Therapy students.
Desiree worked closely with preterm infants in the NICU during her 10 years of work at KKH, advocating for their bottling and feeding through the development of a feeding pathway for very-low-birth-weight infants. She has also worked at the feeding clinics, with children who have dysphagia and other medical conditions like cerebral palsy, genetic disorders etc. She has a soft spot and is no stranger to the children on ventilatory support and tracheostomies who have feeding difficulties. Desiree empathises and understands that feeding is such an important aspect of a person’s life, not just for nutrition, but also for pleasure. Hence, her philosophy is to help her patients have a good quality of life, through having the pleasure of eating and drinking within the boundaries of what is safe.
Desiree obtained her degree, Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) in 2006 from the University of Sydney. She went on to obtain her Masters in Health Sciences (Speech Pathology) in 2010. In 2012, Desiree was awarded HMDP, to receive training in the United States of America. She went to John Hopkin’s Children Hospital in Baltimore, Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. She furthered her knowledge and skills in the area of dysphagia and feeding for children. She is currently registered under the Allied Healths Professions Council.
During her career at KKH, Desiree played an inaugural part, expanding the feeding clinic services and has contributed to clinical education and some research in this area. She set up the tracheostomy clinic, dysphagia clinic, preemie feeding clinic, fussy eater clinic, FEES (Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing) clinic, GASTROFEED clinic with the gastroenterologists and dietitian, and helped develop a training program for nurses on feeding preterm infants.
She provided clinical education to other speech therapists in the team to develop their dysphagia skills and was also involved as an examiner at the National University of Singapore for student speech therapists. Desiree has also presented at workshops and symposiums on dysphagia, to doctors, nursing staff, other healthcare professionals and parents.
Desiree is a mother of two young daughters. As a mother to a fussy eater, she empathises and can relate to the feeding woes and worries a mother faces when feeding their child. She uses her knowledge as a feeding therapist and personal experiences to help the child and support the family. As the saying goes, it takes a whole village to raise a child.
Desiree is trained in:
- SOS Approach (Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding),
- Feeding Therapy: A Sensory Motor Approach
- Oro-motor therapy using TalkTools® equipment and food
- MORE – Integrating the Mouth with Sensory and Postural Functions
- Introduction to Orofacial Myology
What patients say
Mother of J (2 years 9 months)
We started seeing Desiree when my son was 2 years 9 months old. Up till then, he was totally on blended food. A combination of bad acid reflux and mild tongue tie and negative experiences with food led him to not being able to manage table foods. He also had no interest in eating (not even ice-cream or french fries). Mealtimes were a nightmare, often with raised voices and tears on both sides. We saw Desiree weekly and our breakthrough came exactly 4 months later, when he had his first fully non-blended meal of fried rice, a fish finger, pork and pasta sauce. I cried tears of joy because I never thought this day would come. A few months later, we were able to have our first family holiday without me bringing along the whole kitchen (the steamer, blender, chopping board, knives). It was truly liberating. I am thankful for Desiree’s patience and encouragement along the process. Thank you Desiree.
Mother of A (Chewing difficulty, 3 years old)
We were referred to Desiree by our paediatrician as our daughter seemed to be a very fussy eater and did not properly chew her food. Desiree was a blessing in our lives. She quickly unraveled A’s issues and worked with us to support her. Desiree introduced new food textures to our daughter, inspired confidence in her and ultimately taught her to eat the right way. We are grateful to Desiree for her support and patience. Thank you for giving parents like us hope and bringing flavour to a kid’s life.
Mother of Heather (Bottle Aversion, 3 month old)
Ms Desiree is a life-saver – she saved me from so much stress and anxiety during feeding times. My 3mo baby was rejecting milk every since 2 mo; she would cry and fuss at the sight of bib, milk and milk bottle, and she could go on 6 hrs without drinking! This is a bottle-fed baby from birth! I tried changing the milk, milk bottle and teat size but it did not work. I decided to see Ms Desiree because I couldn’t handle the stress anymore. She is professional, learned and insightful. She gave me a feeding plan with I followed, and immediately after I ewnt home from my first consultation, my baby was magically cured! No more fussing at the bottle and she finally started crying for milk again! Thank you Ms Desiree and Magic Beans!!
Mother of L (Bottle Aversion, 4 month old)
We are so happy to have found Ms Desiree! Our 4 month old was having feeding issues that bordered on bottle aversion and we saw almost immediate results just by applying the advice given to us in the first session. Feeding is now a less stressful and frustrating experience for our son and his caregivers. Highly recommend if you are a first-time parent like us and need some advice tailored to the specific issue you are facing!
Mother of M (Chewing Difficulty, 18 months old)
My 18months old son couldn’t transition to solids from baby food because he sucked on his food and if it doesn’t melt, he’d spit it out and we had no idea how to train a baby to process it so he could swallow. Before going for therapy he attempted to swallow his small chicken bit without chewing, would gag and vomit. Thanks to Desiree and team, showed us how to get him to chew his solids before swallowing. The therapist had lots of toys to soothe the child, he was happy to attend sessions, they were effective and compassionate. It is helpful to bring some of the child’s favourite foods and toys to each session.
Mother of K (Bottle Aversion, 4 month old)
I highly recommend Magic Bean! We came to them with my son’s bottle aversion, and the support we received was exceptional. The entire team was compassionate and knowledgeable, and they made our journey so much easier. Special thanks to Desiree, who was incredibly patient and skilled—her guidance helped my son make real progress, and we even started working on solids with her encouragement. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Thank you, Magic Bean, for making such a positive difference in our lives!
Mother of G (Bottle Aversion, 2 month old)
As a first time mom, feeding time was quite stressful for me when my child turned 2 months old. He struggled and took an hour to finish the bottled milk with a lot of pauses, grumbling, and crying in the process. Many guesses came to my mind — was he colicky or gassy? Should I change the milk bottle or teat or formula milk brand? Did he have sucking or swallowing issues? I never knew that I was over feeding my son till I consulted Ms Desiree. To all parents out there, do not fear to seek professional advice on feeding. It took me one face to face consultation and a quick follow up session to realise my mistake and to practice Ms Desiree’s feed strategy to see results. Feeding becomes enjoyable for both my child and me now.