Swallowing Disorders

What are swallowing disorders?

Swallowing problems (dysphagia) affect how food and liquids move from mouth to stomach. The issue can occur at one or more of the swallowing phases, which include:

The oral phase

This is the first phase, where you chew and move food or liquid towards your throat. 

The pharyngeal phase 

The pharynx is at the back of your throat, where the muscles contract to push food down the esophagus. It’s where the swallowing you’re most conscious of occurs. One vital stage of the pharyngeal phase is securely closing the airway to prevent food or liquid from going the wrong way into the airway or trachea. 

The esophageal phase 

When it functions correctly, you usually don’t feel the esophageal phase, where the esophagus squeezes food into your stomach. However, you may become conscious of it if you have a swallowing disorder or a condition like acid reflux, which causes esophageal inflammation. 

What symptoms indicate a swallowing disorder?

Swallowing disorders can cause varying symptoms depending on the condition’s cause and severity. Common symptoms include:

• Coughing or choking when swallowing
• Difficulty chewing 
• Not swallowing when you want to
• Drooling
• Gagging
• Regurgitation and/or vomiting
• Breathing difficulties

The therapists at Honeycomb Speech Services use comprehensive assessments to diagnose swallowing disorders. They review you or your child’s medical history and symptoms to assess physical, social, behavioral, and communication skills development.

You or your child might need to trial or eat various foods so your therapist can see how you chew and move food into your throat, as well as the problems that occur.  

What treatments help with swallowing disorders?

Honeycomb Speech Services creates customized swallowing disorder programs that address the specific problems you experience. Options that could form part of your plan include:

• Cutting food into small pieces
• Avoiding straws 
• Tucking the chin into the chest or turning the head to one side when swallowing
• Improved posture while sitting at a dining table
• Slowing down while eating
• Taking care not to talk with a full mouth
• Modifying solids or liquids to be the safest to prevent aspiration, choking and/or aspiration pneumonia
• Providing education and instruction on safe swallowing strategies
• Oral motor exercises designed to improve the swallowing mechanism
• Coordination of care with your physician to ensure the safest, least restrictive diet including levels of solids and liquids

Honeycomb Speech Services tailors every therapy to suit the individual patient, so you might have some or all of these interventions in your treatment plan.

Call Honeycomb Speech Services to arrange a dysphagia/ swallowing disorder evaluation or book an appointment online today.