Feeding and swallowing challenges have been documented throughout the lifespan in people with a diagnosis of Down syndrome (Kumin, L. & Chapman-Bahr, D. 1999, Overland, L. & Merkel-Walsh, R., 2013). Feeding issues may be secondary to medical issues, muscle tone and postural issues, structural issues, sensory issues, dysphagia and delays/differences in oral sensory motor skill development.

These challenges may result in breastfeeding challenges, failure to thrive, delayed introduction of solids, mealtime safety concerns, difficulty progressing to solid foods, diets which include easy to masticate solids, self- limited diets, and socially unacceptable eating skills.
Assessment of feeding challenges should include a thorough birth, developmental and medical history, examination of oral structures and task analysis of oral sensory motor skills to support safe, nutritive eating and mealtime observation.

Assessment and treatment should be multidisciplinary, and members of a feeding team may include the pediatrician, GI, ENT, cardiologist, endocrinologist, dentist, IBCLC, SLP, OT and PT. Treatment should focus on posture and alignment, mitigating orofacial myofunctional
disorders, addressing medical concerns, supporting early breastfeeding, facilitating complementary feeding and addressing the underlying oral sensory motor skills to support safe, nutritive feeding. This one day class provides participants with the skills to assess structure and function, and to develop treatment programs to address breastfeeding, bottle feeding, spoon feeding, transition to solid foods, cup and straw drinking.

1. Participants will be able to describe medical issues which impact feeding in children with
Down syndrome.
2. Participants will be able to describe tone and postural issues which impact people with a
diagnosis of Down syndrome.
3. Participants will be able to identify structural issues which may impact feeding in people
with a diagnosis of Down syndrome.
4. Participants will be able to list three ways a sensory motor approach can improve
feeding in children with Down syndrome.
5. Participants will be able to list at least 10 pre-feeding and 10 therapeutic feeding
techniques to support feeding in the Down syndrome population.
 

• Lori L. Overland MS CCC-SLP, C/NDT, CLC, FOM

Registration Fees

• $150  0.2 ASHA CEUs, digital workbook & certificate of completion.
   

Schedule

Timed Agenda: (Lunch 60 minutes and two 15 minutes breaks)
Introduction and Course Overview - 15 minutes
Assessing Factors that Influence Feeding - 1 hour

- Overview of Assessment
- Potential Health Issues in the DS Population
- Motor Development: Posture and Alignment
- Sensory Processing
- Structure
- Oral Reflexes
- Range of Motion
- Behavioral Issues
 

Examples of Functional Issues - 1 hour
Know the Norms!
Task Analysis:
- Breastfeeding
- Bottle Feeding
- Spoon Feeding
- Solids
- Cup Drinking
- Straw

Lunch - 12:30-1:30

A Sensory Motor Approach to Feeding Children with Down syndrome - 1 hour
Complementary Feeding/ABLW - 15 minutes

Pre-Feeding Program-Developing the Underlying Motor Skills - 1 hour

Therapeutic Feeding - 1 hour 15 minutes

Questions: 15 minutes
 

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Content Disclosure: This presentation will focus on treatment methods related to the use of TalkTools® resources. Other similar treatment approaches will receive limited or no coverage during this lecture.
 

Satisfactory Completion: 
To receive a Certificate of Completion learners must: attend the entirety of the course; complete the course quiz with a passing score of 80% accuracy or higher and complete the course completion survey. Learners must request to be reported to ASHA CE.

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