Question
I am working with a child who has Cri-du-chat Syndrome and who recently began tube feeding following a bout with pneumonia. A Modified Barium Swallow revealed a normal swallow during administration of all consistencies but the child still won't eat a suff
Answer
The most important thing at this point is that the child receive proper nutrition. It may be necessary for tube feedings to continue. A conversation between the family, the physician, the dietician, and yourself will help decide the best way to continue to deliver proper nutrition and hydration (ng tube, more permanent G-tube or button). So, if it hasn't already happened a consult to a gastroenterologist would be a good idea. Even if a feeding tube is in place and since her swallow was normal, you can still work on slow acceptance of different foods and amounts in therapy. What is not taken by mouth, can be supplemented with the tube. If you are looking for specific therapy techniques, I would suggest you look at the work of Kay Toomey and her SOS approach or Lori Overland's Sensory-Motor Feeding information from Talk Tools.
Good Luck with your endeavors.
Mary E. Warburton, M.A., CCC-SLP has been a speech-language pathologist for 13 years. She is the Lead Speech-Language Pathologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital, specializing in Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing, NICU, Cardiac and Lung Transplant patients. She resides in St. Louis, with her husband and 2 sons.
Mary Warburton, M.A.,CCC-SLP
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