Abstract
We discovered that children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities（SMID） and severe swallowing disorders will, to some extent, very actively and independently engage in the process of eating when attempting the oral intake of food. Through the process of eating with others, children with SMID can improve their communication skills, become more trusting, and feel that they are living more independently. Speech, language, and hearing therapists have endorsed the viewpoint of eating as one basis to encourage communication, which supports the lives of children with SMID.
