Feeding, Swallowing & FEES

Eating and drinking are part of everyday life, but feeding and swallowing difficulties can make meals stressful, uncomfortable, or unsafe.

Advanced Therapy Solutions provides specialized feeding and swallowing evaluation and treatment for infants, children, and adults, with Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) currently available for adults.

Feeding difficulties can begin in infancy or develop as children transition to new foods, textures, and mealtime routines.

Our feeding team evaluates and treats concerns including:

• Breastfeeding and bottle-feeding difficulties
• Difficulty transitioning to purees or solid foods
• Limited food variety or food refusal
• Difficulty accepting new foods or textures
• Difficulty chewing or managing food
• Oral-motor difficulties
• Coughing, choking, or other concerns during meals
• Swallowing difficulties
• Stressful or challenging mealtimes

Feeding difficulties are not always caused by one issue. We consider the child's feeding and swallowing skills, sensory needs, development, medical history, nutrition concerns, and family priorities when developing recommendations.

Our goal is to help children develop the skills needed for safe, successful, and more positive eating experiences while supporting families through the process.

Swallowing difficulties can develop following illness, surgery, injury, or neurological changes and can affect nutrition, hydration, health, and quality of life.

Our speech-language pathologists evaluate and treat adults experiencing concerns such as:

• Coughing or choking while eating or drinking
• Food or liquid feeling difficult to swallow
• Food feeling stuck
• Difficulty swallowing certain foods or textures
• Changes in swallowing following stroke or neurological disease
• Changes following surgery, hospitalization, or illness
• Recurrent concerns about food or liquid entering the airway
• Difficulty maintaining adequate nutrition or hydration because of swallowing problems

Treatment is based on the individual's swallowing difficulty and may include exercises, strategies, changes to eating or drinking techniques, and other recommendations designed to improve swallowing safety and function.

Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) is currently available for adult patients at Advanced Therapy Solutions.

FEES allows a specially trained speech-language pathologist to directly evaluate swallowing using a small flexible scope that is gently passed through the nose. The clinician can then view the throat while the patient eats and drinks.

FEES can help determine:

• Whether food or liquid is entering the airway
• How effectively food and liquid move through the throat
• Whether material remains in the throat after swallowing
• Which foods, liquids, positions, or strategies may improve swallowing safety or effectiveness
• How swallowing changes over repeated trials or during a meal

The findings provide information that can be used to develop individualized treatment and recommendations based on what is happening during swallowing.

You do not need to know whether you or your child needs feeding therapy, swallowing therapy, or a specialized swallowing evaluation before contacting us.

Tell us what is happening. Our team can help determine the appropriate next step and whether additional medical assessment or testing may be needed.