Swallowing Disorders in Infants and Children

Published 03.18.201508.27.2019 by nfosdadmin

By: Nancy Swigert, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S

INFANTS AND BOTTLE/BREAST FEEDING

Infants gain all their nutrition through breast or bottle feeding until they are at least six months of age. The ability to suck successfully from breast or bottle requires the infant to coordinate three actions: suck-swallow-breathe. Suck is accomplished with slightly different motions on the breast compared to the bottle, but essentially the lips must close on the nipple and the tongue moves in and out in a suckle motion and presses the nipple against the roof of the mouth, creating pressure on the nipple. As the jaw moves down, it helps create suction to pull the liquid into the mouth. The infant then has to swallow the liquid, and the infant must stop breathing during each swallow and then breathe after swallowing. The suck-swallow-breathe sequence then starts again. Many things can interfere with this sophisticated system for swallowing. Here are some examples of possible causes of difficulty with feeding in infants. Many of these problems can continue to affect the child’s ability to eat and swallow as they grow.

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Feeding the Medically Fragile Infant

Published 03.14.202103.14.2021 by nfosdadmin

Written by Rebecca Brown, M.S., CCC-SLP, CNT

Amy’s Story

Amy was born at 24 weeks gestational age, 16 weeks before her due date. Amy was born with her twin, but her sister did not live more than twenty-four hours after delivery. Since delivery, Amy has undergone multiple procedures, including x-rays, eye exams, head ultrasounds, and phototherapy. She was on mechanical ventilation because of her immature lungs for more than a month before being able to breathe without the assistance of the ventilator. Amy still required supplemental oxygen through a nasal cannula in order to support her breathing. At 32 weeks, Amy began demonstrating signs of hunger, including bringing hands to mouth, opening her mouth wide, and moving her head around to search for a breast or bottle. How should the medical team approach feeding this medically fragile infant?

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Dysphagia & Patients with Tracheostomy and Mechanical Ventilation

Published 07.23.201904.09.2020 by nfosdadmin

What is a tracheostomy?

A tracheotomy is a procedure where an opening is created in the neck and into the airway (trachea) and a tracheostomy is the resulting stoma (hole) that is created. A tracheostomy tube is typically placed into the stoma to allow for direct access to the trachea for breathing and removing secretions from the airway and lungs. The tube enables air to flow directly through the trachea rather than through the nose and mouth, bypassing the upper airway.

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What Parents Should Know About Radiation Safety and Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Studies (VFSS)

Published 06.20.201608.27.2019 by nfosdadmin

By: Nancy B. Swigert, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-S

Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders

and

Vesna Martich Kriss, MD

Pediatric Radiologist, Baptist Health Lexington

It has been recommended that your child undergo a video fluoroscopic swallowing evaluation, often called a modified barium swallow, to assess the pharyngeal phase of the swallow. This radiologic procedure exposes your child to x-rays which raises safety questions about the study. Here are some things parents should know about radiation safety and the video fluoroscopic swallowing exam (VFSS).

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When Your Baby Won’t Eat

Published 02.07.201602.07.2016 by nfosdadmin

Byline: Virginia Sole-Smith; NY Times Magazine February 4, 2016

Our daughter started life on a feeding tube. Then we tried to wean her off it and began to understand the complexity of how children relate to food.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/07/magazine/when-your-baby-wont-eat.html

This is a lengthy article about Violet, a seemingly healthy newborn with a strong natural eating style. But, over the course of a week, Virginia began to decline. The story doesn’t begin with a swallowing disorder, but it evolves into one.

Three quick points, for those of you with still here:

1) At the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders, we refer people who contact us to swallowing specialists, physicians, and medical teams worldwide on a daily basis. We do not seek compensation for these referrals nor do we receive a commission from those practitioners to whom we refer people. Our goal is to match the patient with the best and most practical medical professional.

2) We do not provide patient-specific medical advice. As with Violet, every patient is different, and the logical place to begin is with a medical assessment by a specialist versed in that patient’s underlying medical condition and age (pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric) while taking location into consideration.

3) As of this posting, there were over 140 comments. Many of them were from people with infants who suffered a swallowing disorder. It is worth reading the comments. This highlights that swallowing disorders are not a medical condition that discriminates, “Swallowing Disorders can Affect Anyone.” Click here to see our brochure.

It’s a Scary Time of Year

Published 10.29.201510.28.2020 by nfosdadmin

Halloween is meant to be a scary time of year. But for parents of children with dysphagia, it can be an especially frightening time of year. To kids, Halloween is the one day of the year where they are encouraged to go door-to-door asking adults for as much candy as they can carry. continue reading →