No two childhood feeding disorders are alike – a feeding disorder in a child may include problems gathering food,or it may appear as difficulty getting ready to suck, chew or swallow food. For example, a child who cannot pick up food and get it into their mouth – or cannot completely close their lips to keep food from falling out of their mouth – may have a feeding disorder.
Children can also experience swallowing disorders, or dysphagia, which can occur at different stages in the swallowing process.
- Oral phase –difficulty sucking, chewing and moving food or liquid into the throat
- Pharyngeal phase –trouble with starting swallowing, squeezing food down the throat and closing off the airway to prevent food or liquid from entering the airway (aspiration) or to prevent choking
- Esophageal phase –issues with relaxing and tightening the openings at the top and bottom of the feeding tube in the throat (esophagus) and squeezing food through the esophagus into the stomach.
At EatPlayConnect, I put my 17+ years of therapy experience with children of all ages to work for your child, building a positive rapport with patients and their families – I appreciate parent or caregiver involvement in the therapeutic process. I also provide compassionate understanding for children with disabilities, as well as patient determination to find the right methods to help my patients. Together, we can learn to embrace the laughter and fun that is part of treatment sessions.