title: Pediatric feeding and swallowing problems: an interdisciplinary team approach.
abstract: In 1995, Oshawa General Hospital (now Lakeridge Health Corporation, Oshawa site) developed an interdisciplinary feeding and swallowing clinic to serve children with feeding problems. After four years, a retrospective chart review of 104 subjects was completed to assess the performance of the clinic, which consists of a pediatrician, a speech-language pathologist (S-LP), an occupational therapist (OT), and a registered dietitian (RD). Goals were set at the initial and follow-up visits. These goals were individualized according to client needs and were related to improvements in growth and/or feeding abilities. During this period, 176 of 232, or 75.9% (70-81, 95% confidence interval), of the initial goals were attained by the first follow-up visit. Progress in the clinic, as measured by the number of goals achieved by the first follow-up visit, was further analyzed according to the patient age group/category (i.e., infant, toddler, and child) and by the health care professional (i.e., S-LP, OT, and RD) to ascertain and compare success rates in these groups and professionals. The overall success rates in the patient age groups (p=0.07) and among the different professionals (p=0.92) were not significantly different. In short, the interdisciplinary team approach proved successful in treating feeding problems in patients referred to the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Lakeridge Health Corporation, Oshawa, ON.
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Witherspoon
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kavsak
authors.forename: Cyndi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McBlain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D004046:Dietetics / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000592:standards; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome