Pediatric Feeding & Swallowing Therapy

Feeding is the process of any activity involving eating or drinking (eg. sucking, chewing or swallowing) while swallowing is the complex process of transporting food, liquid or saliva from the mouth to the stomach while keeping the airway protected. 

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A feeding disorder may or may not involve swallowing, and could be characterized by the following:

• refusing to eat certain foods, or only accepting a restricted variety of foods

• failing to master self-feeding skills for their developmental level 

• displaying disruptive behaviours during mealtime that are inappropriate for their developmental age 

• failing to use developmentally appropriate feeding devices or utensils 

• not displaying optimal growth 

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A swallowing disorder (dysphagia) could affect any of the phases of swallowing, and is extremely dangerous because food can enter the airway and cause aspiration (entrance of food, liquid or saliva into the trachea) which can lead to infections. Examples include failing to chew food appropriately, failure of the tongue to form a proper bolus (formation of a small ball of chewed food at the back of the mouth) or difficulty in pushing the bolus back.

Sometimes, children are not even able to reach the swallow stage because food spills out of the mouth or gets pocketed in the cheeks. 

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Feeding and swallowing disorders have long-term consequences and side-effects, such as:

• inadequate nutrition that can persist until child grows older

• dependence on external sources of nutrition (eg. feeding tube)

• food aversion (avoiding food and feeding in general, or avoiding some types of food)

• poor growth 

• aspiration pneumonia

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A speech therapist can help to assess if your child is ready for oral feeding, if they will benefit from therapy and if any unsafe feeding techniques are being used. We may work on positioning and posture during feeding, modifying diet or the utensils used, and even using specific techniques to help strengthen the motor movements required for chewing. 

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Reference: https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589934965&section=Overview