Pediatric Dysphagia: Establishing the Brain-Mouth-Gut Connection

• List typical development and sequence of respiration, swallowing, and digestion
• State the typical development of reflexes related to mastication and swallowing
• Discuss 4 common pediatric medical diagnoses that lead to dysphagia
• Describe types of feeding tubes and their impacts on the normal Brain-Mouth-Gut connection
• Examine 5 therapeutic interventions to help re-establish the Brain-Mouth-Gut connection
• Develop functional feeding strategies that are SES (socio-economic-status) friendly

For most, the ability to eat with peers in the school cafeteria, or participate in family dinners is a given. However, a significant subset of the population is unable to safely and independently participate in communal mealtime due to oropharyngeal dysphagia. It is crucial that clinicians to be knowledgeable and comfortable with the intricacies of their young patients' conditions in order to maximize the effectiveness of treatment. This requires a detailed understanding of the Brain-Mouth-Gut connection and the impact common pediatric disorders have on it. Ultimately, it is the clinicians' goal to establish these connections, and to help patients live up to their fullest potential.
This one-day course is designed to educate attendees on the ins and outs of the Brain-Mouth-Gut connection, what leads to breakdowns in this system, and how these breakdowns can result in oropharyngeal dysphagia. Attendees will take home interventions unique to the needs of their medically fragile and complex pediatric patients from birth into early childhood.