Does the swallowing team do a modified barium swallow procedure?
Standard barium swallow studies use a large amount of food or liquid. If the child aspirates, the study is often discontinued immediately. A modified barium procedure uses only a small amount of food or liquid, and the evaluation usually compares different consistencies of liquid and puree. This is important because some children have trouble with some consistencies but not others. A child may be able to swallow very small amounts at a time, but aspirate on larger amounts. Does the radiology suite have a special chair or seating system so that a baby or young child can be carefully positioned in sitting? Some hospitals don’t have appropriate equipment for infants and children who cannot sit unsupported. They may choose to do a swallowing study with the child lying down, or the child may be strapped into an adult chair. When a child is not positioned well for a swallowing study, information on the swallow is useless. We want to know how the child swallows in supported sitting with good
