All children must learn how to eat, and a lot of children have trouble at first, but this tends to resolve on its own. For some children, their troubles will continue and become more chronic. Children who experience problems eating may be experiencing a feeding disorder or swallowing problems (dysphagia).

Pediatric feeding disorders describe a set of symptoms in which a child avoids eating or puts limits on food intake thus causing problems like weight loss, nutritional deficiency, or a need for nutritional supplements. In some cases, there are problems with daily functioning.

Some symptoms of a feeding disorder include:

Has problems breast feeding
Cries or fusses when feeding
Arches back or stiffens when feeding
Falls asleep when feeding
Has trouble breathing while eating or drinking
Refuses to eat or drink
Is not gaining weight or growing
Eats only certain textures
Coughs or gags while eating
Spits up or throws up a lot
Takes a long time to eat
Has problems chewing
Drools a lot
Gets stuffy during meals
Has a hoarse, breathy or girggly voice during or after meals

Not every child experiences the symptoms listed here; they may experience just a few of these issues. If your child does have a feeding disorder, it is very important to get it diagnosed and addressed. Children with feeding disorders are at risk for dehydration or poor nutrition, aspiration pneumonia (when food or liquid gets in the lungs) or other lung infections. As children get older, they also tend to be socially avoidant.

Treatment of a child’s feeding disorder varies depending on the individual case. Some treatment options include feeding therapy, food variation suggestions, changing the child’s placement and feeding posture, behavior therapy and other forms of medical treatment. Your child may need feeding or swallowing treatment to work on the physical ability of the mouth and oral consumption.

If you are concerned that your child may have a feeding disorder or aphagia, please reach out to our office and schedule an appointment with a pediatric ENT specialist in New Jersey.