Does the dinner table feel more like a battleground? Does your child struggle to eat, refuse food, or gag while trying to swallow? They may have a swallowing disorder: an impairment in the muscles of their throat, mouth, or face that’s keeping them from eating properly. At Endeavors Pediatric Therapy Services, we offer speech therapy for children with a swallowing disorder–and may be able to help you find peace at dinner time.
Eating and drinking are surprisingly complex, four-step physiological processes. Your mouth prepares the food or drink, then sends it down your throat with the help of your tongue. It then makes its way to your esophagus without blocking your airway. And it happens every time you take a bite or sip your beverage.
Because so much goes into swallowing, a lot can potentially go wrong, too. And when it happens to your child, it can be frightening–after all, your child needs to eat to grow up strong and healthy! Fortunately, speech therapy can help.
Speech therapy for swallowing disorders may sound odd. After all, swallowing isn’t speaking. But swallowing and speaking both involve the muscles of the mouth, face, tongue, and throat, areas that our speech therapists are very familiar with. Just as we can help a child learn to use their mouth muscles for clear annunciation, we can help them develop strategies to swallow more effectively.
If you want to learn more about how the Endeavors Pediatric Therapy Services speech therapists can help address a swallowing disorder, schedule an appointment at our Statesville clinic today.
Understanding Swallowing Disorder: Signs and Causes
Simply put, swallowing disorder (also known by the medical term dysphagia) refers to any difficulties a child has with the process of swallowing. It’s distinct from feeding disorders, which refer to eating-related issues unrelated to swallowing (such as accepting only a handful of different types of foods or struggling to use utensils).
Impairments in swallowing can happen at any point in the swallowing process and can lead to masticated food ending up in places it shouldn’t, like the trachea or nasal cavity. And from the perspective of your child, who likely doesn’t have the words to express what’s happening to them, it can make eating or drinking a terrifying prospect.
But how can you know if your child has a swallowing disorder? It can be difficult, but there are several signs you can watch out for, including the following:
- Coughing or choking during or after swallowing
- Difficulty chewing
- Difficulty starting the swallowing process
- Difficulty with chewing food
- Difficulty with starting the swallowing process
- Drooling (non-teething related)
- Gagging, retching, or nosy breathing
- Crying while eating or during mealtimes
- Frequent nasal congestion
- Taking longer than thirty minutes to finish meals
Swallowing disorders generally occur due to some sort of underlying condition, such as the following:
- GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)
- Developmental delays
- Cleft lip or palate
- Neuromuscular conditions, such as muscular dystrophy
At Endeavors Pediatric Therapy Services, our therapists can help you know for sure if your child has a swallowing or feeding disorder. We can also help you identify any possible underlying causes if one isn’t immediately obvious.
Speech Therapy Techniques for Treating Swallowing Disorder
If your child has a swallowing disorder, it’s crucial that you find a way to manage or, if possible, resolve it completely. Swallowing difficulties can have dramatic long-term consequences, including dehydration and malnutrition.
Fortunately, speech therapy at Endeavors Pediatric Therapy Services offers several proactive solutions to help address these difficulties. We understand that every child is different, so we’ll work closely with you, your child, and your child’s care team to create a comprehensive, customized treatment program to address your child’s unique needs.
Depending on the exact nature of your child’s swallowing disorder–including the stage at which difficulties are popping up–we might utilize the following techniques:
- Adjusting Your Child’s Position and Posture: Sometimes, tweaking your child’s position during mealtimes can help make swallowing easier, as it can provide the necessary alignment and stability to ensure food travels safely to the stomach. There’s no “correct” position, however, and our therapists can determine the appropriate one for your child.
- Oral-Motor Exercises: These exercises help work the muscles of the lips, jaw, tongue, soft palate, or throat. Our therapists might use passive techniques (in which we stimulate the muscles through trapping or vibration) or active techniques (dedicated chewing or strengthening exercises).
- Diet Modifications: In some cases, altering the texture, portion size, or taste of food might help facilitate swallowing. For example, you might thin out thicker liquids or puree solid fruits.
- Swallowing Maneuvers: Older children might benefit from swallowing maneuvers, strategies that involve managing breath or mouth and throat muscles as they swallow. These techniques are a little more complex and require following multi-stepped instructions.
Schedule an Appointment for More Information!
Treatment for swallowing disorders is a highly individualized process. If you suspect your child is struggling with swallowing, contact Endeavors Pediatric Therapy Services immediately. We can provide more detailed information based on your child’s exact needs.
Dinnertime shouldn’t be a struggle. Call our Statesville-based speech therapists and schedule your initial consultation today.
Sources:
- https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/pediatric-feeding-and-swallowing
- https://www.asha.org/public/speech/swallowing/feeding-and-swallowing-disorders-in-children/
Tags: physicaltherapy, healthandwellness, Speech therapy clinic, swallowing disorder, Speech Therapy, physicaltherapist
