Below is a video of a little girl taking a bottle. What the speech therapist is looking for...is that she has a rhythmical swallow, that she is clearing the liquid (meaning that it isn't getting stuck in her pharynx...the tube leading the the tummy and the lungs), that there is no aspiration (aka the liquid goes down the esophagus to the stomach..not into the trachea and into the lungs), and they are checking general anatomical structures to make sure they are functioning correctly. The speech therapist may also be checking to make sure the child isn't refluxing (aka the liquid isn't coming back up once it is in her tummy..or in the pharynx). Watch closely..this child will aspirate towards the end of the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcjEyDtJYYY&feature=related
This little guy is having difficulty triggering his swallow (meaning the liquid is getting stuck in his mouth...or it is going into his pharynx without the swallow triggering which is causing the liquid to come back up and out his mouth)...he is continually holding the liquid and spitting it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7MV2C-MVZE&feature=related
This is just a video of a cute little baby getting a swallow study. I think they are trying to determine if he is safe for oral feeds (feeding through the mouth via bottle)...He is also trying towards the end to intitiate a suck...he is holding the nipple in his mouth but isn't sucking...this may be due to him needing more stimulation to get the suck going...and/or he is having trouble breathing..so he is choosing to breathe instead of swallow (which I would choose that too)...or he is having trouble establishing a rhythimical suck..he isn't getting into a groove of swallow, then breathe, then swallow, then breathe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHlrKHg6awU&feature=related
If your child is going in for one of these evaluations. Expect the speech therapist to probably take you back with them...and give your child a liquid, a pureed, a solid...all covered in barium...the white stuff that helps the food to show up on the xray. Kids are actually usually okay with this procedure...it doesn't hurt....and the barium although it tastes "chalky" isn;'t really too bad :)
Ask your speech therapist before going to the evaluation if she would like you to bring the spoon you use at home, the sippy cup and/or bottle, the bowls you use, etc...sometimes speech therapists have you bring familiar tools...so that the child is more comfortable and so that they get a more accurate picture of what exactly is going on when the child is swallowing at home.
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