Children's Services - Feeding and Swallowing Disorders

Sky Lakes Medical Center provides evaluations and therapy for children who have difficulties with feeding or swallowing. Inpatient and outpatient therapy is provided for all age groups, including newborns through childhood.  

FEEDING:  Many children have difficulties with certain textures, environmental distractions, or develop behaviors that make it hard for them to be fed or feed themselves.  A full evaluation is completed by the Speech-Language Pathologist to determine what the difficulty is. Then modifications can be made to improve the ability for the child to take in food and drink.
This process takes place in the clinic, but a home evaluation may be completed to assess the environment in which a child eats/drinks.

SWALLOWING:  As with adults, some children do have true dysphagia, or swallowing difficulties.  At Sky Lakes Medical Center, a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist follows the same protocol  with children for swallowing evaluations, recommendations, and follow-up therapy as with adults.  Please refer to Adult Swallowing Disorders for more information on evaluations.