Question
I am working with a 15-month-old boy who has been on a feeding tube since he was born. His doctors have said that he is ready to start trying to take foods/drinks orally. I work for an education agency, so I don't usually work with swallowing, but the fam
Answer
I would first ask if his swallowing ability has been studied and considered safe for oral trials via a clinical bedside and/or Video Swallow Study. If you are not familiar with the clinical signs of aspiration and this evaluation has not been done, that would be the first step. If you are comfortable with observing and responding to clinical signs of aspiration, you may want to start with very minute oral trials of sterile water, observe and monitor and then progress from there.
It would be important to know why the child is tube fed, what are any medical concerns or conditions he has, and if there is a sensory/behavioral component to his feeding/swallowing concerns.
If you are really unsure, please consult with a swallowing professional near you that can do a comprehensive evaluation and set up a treatment plan for the patient with you.
Mary E. Warburton, M.A., CCC-SLP has been a speech-language pathologist for 12 years. She is the Lead Speech-Language Pathologist at St. Louis Children's Hospital, specializing in Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing, NICU, and Lung Transplant patients. She resides in St. Louis, with her husband and 2 sons. She can be reached at maryew@bjc.org.
Mary Warburton, M.A.,CCC-SLP
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