[Dysphagia] Pediatric Swallowing Question

[hanli at bgh-on.ca (Lindsay Hancock)]

I have a child on my caseload at the moment who is 2.5 years olds. She
has very delayed expressive language, and the words she does say are
unclear. In addition to her language delay she displays some unusual
eating/swallowing behaviours. Any advice you could provide on what to do
with her concerning this would be appreciated. 

 

She presents as follows;

- Tongue at rest sits between her teeth and lips and out of mouth.

- When drinking liquids, her tongue his protruded and rests under the
cup.

- Mild spillage when drinking liquids.

- Tendency to suck on food and roll them around in her mouth. Recent
improvement in chewing, but still requires increased oral prep time. Mom
reports she'll often suck the food until it's soft, then chew and
swallow. 

- When told to swallow, or when she does swallow, she often gets a
"fearful" look on her face, and her head and arms start shaking. I
haven't seen this yet, but parents report this.

- History of gagging if she eats too much, however mom reports that this
hasn't happened in months.

 

Any suggestions on what to do/look for would be appreciated. My
experience with pediatric swallowing is limited at this time!

 

 

Lindsay Hancock 

Speech Language Pathologist, reg. CASLPO

Brockville General Hospital

70 Charles Street

Brockville, ON

K6V-158

Phone: (613) 345-5645 ext. 1210