“Chewing Can Be Tricky” Dysphagia Coloring Book

Published 09.15.201504.16.2021 by nfosdadmin

Pediatric swallowing specialist, Donna Edwards, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, and ASHA Fellow, has created an outstanding resource for children, parents, and professionals to learn about safe eating and to reduce the likelihood of choking. This coloring book includes a long list of fun activities that parents and professionals can use to teach children about safe and healthy eating.

*All information regarding the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative is provisional. For updates and more information, please visit: www.iddsi.org

The coloring book for young children is now available in five languages! Select your language below:

A new coloring book for school-age children is now available!

ENGLISH SCHOOL AGE VERSION

CHINESE SCHOOL AGE VERSION

ITALIAN SCHOOL AGE VERSION

Traveling With Tube Feeds

Published 04.21.201508.03.2021 by nfosdadmin

Written by Amanda Sullivan, RD, CD, CNSC

Whether traveling for business or pleasure, you can feel relaxed and safe while on tube feedings with a bit of planning ahead. This article contains tips from experienced tube-fed travelers and home infusion company representatives.

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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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Why won’t my child eat like other’s of his (or her) age?

Published 11.05.201308.27.2019 by nfosdadmin

Byline: Donna Edwards, MA CCC-SLP, BRS-S

[NFOSD note. Due to the significant volume of emails and calls we receive from families who have a child with a feeding or swallowing disorder, we reached out to Donna Edwards for her insight into what makes this such a difficult diagnosis and treatment. Donna spent a significant amount of quality time listening to what we are hearing and provides an in-depth and insightful response to this subject matter. Thank you for this valuable contribution.]

As a practicing pediatric clinician, I often hear from physicians, “Why does this child have feeding difficulty when there is no evidence of developmental delay, neurological insult or obvious diagnosis?” It’s a difficult question to answer, not only for the child and the family, but one that holds the speech language pathologists interest as well.

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Not Just a “Fear of Food” – Pediatric Dysphagia

Published 06.14.201308.27.2019 by nfosdadmin

Meet Jayden… a healthy, cute, full of life five year old. Every parent’s dream. But, don’t take our word for it, watch this KATU (Portland) newscast which aired on June 10, 2013 and read his story.

Pediatric dysphagia is more common than generally believed. For additional information, click here to read about “Jayden’s Journey” from the beginning.