Working in the field of Early Intervention for almost 19 years, I have the pleasure of working closely with parents and caregivers. While we are able to get some information from the child’s initial or re-evaluation, some assessments don’t capture all of the crucial information in regards to early developmental milestones. This occurs especially in the area of feeding. Unless the child presents with clear cut reasons for a feeding delay or difficulty(specific diagnosis, tube fed, etc), the Speech Language Pathologist(SLP) may be the first person that identifies early issues with feeding development contributing to the speech delay. The child may still have difficulties or delays with feeding that go unaddressed even at 18 months- 2 years of age! Why are feeding delays or difficulties contributing factors to speech delays? When babies do not get opportunities to learn oral movements for drinking, chewing, and swallowing, these same movements will be more challenging to use for the combination of movements required for speech. Also, take into consideration the coordination required to use voice or not, respiratory functions, and rapid motor movements all at the same time. Wouldn’t it be better for children to have practice with oral motor movements before combining multiple systems? Of course, there are reasons that babies can not have opportunities to practice oral skills while feeding, but the focus for this article will be children who are not physically unable to eat. Here are some things to monitor and have conversations with your pediatrician regularly about:
- Difficulty latching to breast or bottle.
- Slow feeding from breast or bottle and/or inconsistent sucking.
- Choking while feeding frequently and/or excessive spit up/vomiting after feeding.
- Resistance or difficulty transitioning to baby foods-look for excessive spitting out of foods(this is a tongue thrust that should decrease with practice).
- Baby not mouthing objects.
- Baby not beginning to vocalize or babble on time.
*Refer to the tabs on the home page for developmental milestones.