Supporting Families in Educating About Children ’ s Dysphagia

Parenting is hard. Trying to parent in the world of parent-shaming is really hard. It’s not enough to raise a child to be a functional member of society. It’s dealing with all of the information and “help” from well-meaning people that causes parents to feel insecure, isolated, and criticized. Parents often hear “Just give them a taste. They’ll like it,” from family members about their kid with feeding aversions. “I gave them some and they were fine,” to the parent of a child who is NPO (nil per os or nothing by mouth). Some may even use more extreme methods to “discipline” the child into eating or drinking what the adult sees fit. That’s not how dysphagia works. Unfortunately, parents may get blamed for their child’s feeding and swallowing issues. Others may suggest that the child should’ve been breastfed, formula-fed, given cereal in a bottle, made to eat whatever was given, and so on. Extended family may offer “advice” from a place of love and wanting to help. How can parents kindly remind Grandpa Joe that their little one shouldn’t have ham because the child lacks the skills to chew it? Or intervene when Aunt Susie offers a juice box and the child can drink only thickened liquids? As speech-language pathologists, we can educate and support our patients and their families on positive ways to deal with these incidents—well-meaning or not. When someone criticizes your child or your parenting, we all tend to go on the defensive. I try to te...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Health Care Private Practice Slider Speech-Language Pathology Dysphagia Early Intervention Feeding Disorders Swallowing Disorders Source Type: blogs