Speech therapy can be an effective therapeutic tool for children who are experiencing difficulties eating. This helpful guide will outline what feeding and swallowing disorders are, their symptoms, and how speech therapy can help.
Feeding or Swallowing Disorders
As a child learns to eat, they begin by sucking and slowly learn to chew and swallow. At times they may experience gagging or spilling, but this is normal and usually goes away. A child with a feeding disorder will continue to have difficulties, which may prompt them to only want to eat certain foods or take a long time to eat. These difficulties can also be related to a swallowing disorder called dysphagia.
Signs and Symptoms
Children may display a number of the following symptoms related to these disorders, including:
- Arching their back, fussing, crying, or falling asleep while feeding
- Having challenges breastfeeding
- Having difficulties breathing while eating and drinking
- Refusing to eat or drink
- Having difficulties chewing
- Coughing or gagging during meals
- Drooling or having liquid come out of mouth or nose
- Getting stuffy during meals
- Having a gurgly, hoarse, or breathy voice during or after meals
- Not gaining weight or growing
Although your child may not display all of these signs, if they do have a feeding or swallowing disorder, they may be at risk of dehydration, poor nutrition, aspiration, pneumonia, or lung infections. Although a child may feel embarrassed about their eating difficulties, they are nothing to be ashamed of and are highly treatable.
How Speech Therapy Can Help
A Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) will perform an assessment and suggest methods to improve your child’s feeding and swallowing. They may suggest tactics such as medical treatment, feeding therapy, increased food variety, switching the child’s position while eating, or methods to handle their behavior. An SLP can also work directly with your child to:
- Strengthen mouth muscles
- Improve tongue movement and chewing technique
- Try new foods and drinks
- Learn how to safely swallow
- Teach proper meal behavior
- Help with sensory issues
If your child is struggling with feeding or swallowing, our compassionate team can help! Help your child with the treatment they deserve by calling our professional team at 1-800-268-7192 or visit us online.
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