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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Head and Neck Cancer: Swallowing Basics

Published 03.08.201501.29.2020 by nfosdadmin

People who receive treatment for head and neck cancer can have difficulty swallowing at different points in time of their cancer treatment. The causes of swallowing difficulty can be complex and related to multiple factors: tumor growth resulting in injury to normal tissue, surgery-induced damage to the oral and/or pharyngeal (throat) muscles, and/or excessive scarring from radiation.

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THE DREADED “YOUR NEW NORM” (PART 2)

Published 09.03.201402.16.2015 by nfosdadmin

[Editors note: THE DREADED “YOUR NEW NORM” is a two-part series written by Jim Rose. This is the second part of the series. Part 1 can be viewed by clicking here.]

As I became more physically fit I was sent to a physical therapist named Mike Vito. This young man was very adapt and thorough at his job. He pressed me to seek answers from my surgeon that he couldn’t find in my surgical reports. It turned out that the nerve that made my rotor cuff work had to be severed in order to place my pectoral muscle in my throat. With this knowledge Mike designed a lifelong exercise program that would help me regain use of my right arm.

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Dementia Detour with Dysphagia

Published 03.02.201402.16.2015 by nfosdadmin

Byline: Laura Michael (Dysphagia Supplies Direct, LLC; www.dysphagiasupplies.com)

[Editors note: Laura is a regular contributor to the NFOSD website and e-newsletter, Small Bytes. We wish to thank her for her support and dedication to making life a little easier to swallow. A longer bio is at the bottom of this article.]

Alzheimer’s and other dementias are often called “the Long Goodbye”. I would also describe the illness as a long journey.

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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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