Angela Mansolillo – Complex Feeding & Swallowing Problems in Children: Discover the Underlying Causes of Food Refusal for a More Targeted Treatment Plan

Outline

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTIONS

• You Can’t Eat If You Can’t Breathe
• Breathing/Swallowing Coordination and Discoordination
• Role of pulmonary clearance
• Aspiration and aspiration pneumonia
• Incorporate respiratory indicators in evaluation
• Exercise Interventions for breathing/ swallow discoordination and respiratory insufficiencies

PHARYNGEAL DYSPHAGIA

• Clinical assessment matters!
• Instrumental assessment options
• Improving pharyngeal swallow function
• Interventions to decrease aspiration risk
• Dietary modifications – texture modifications and thick liquids pros and cons
• Oral hygiene
• Interactive case review – What your client’s gut is telling you

GI SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

• GI system and respiration connection
• Reflux and Reflux Disease
• Constipation
• Allergies
• Dietary and lifestyle interventions
• Food allergies and the gut
• Positioning and sleep

ORAL MOTOR FUNCTION

• Postural stability matters
• Oral muscles are not skeletal muscles
• Exercise Interventions – are they right for your client

SENSORY PROCESSING AND EATING – CAN’T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER

• Food as therapy
• The role of taste and smell
• Strategies – how to expand food repertoire

WHEN IT REALLY IS BEHAVIOR

• What’s the behavior’s form AND function
• Examining the feeding environment
• Finding the right reinforcement strategy
• Behavioral intervention in 5 steps:
• Environment, hunger, reinforcement, shaping and parent training
• Interactive case review – when it’s behavior…but not just behavior

WEANING FROM TUBE FEEDING

• Priming the Gut
• Rapid vs. Gradual weans
• Blended diets
• Strategies for Tube Feed Weaning
• Blended diets – when and who

MORE NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS for Pharyngeal Dysphagia, GI Development, Oral Motor Function, Sensory Processing, Behavior and Tube Feeding

• Nutrition and immune system function
• Supplements
• Which special diets are really special
• Techniques to improve nutrition

Faculty

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ANGELA MANSOLILLO, MA/CCC-SLP, BCS-S, is a Speech-Language Pathologist and Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing Disorders with more than 30 years of experience. She is currently a senior Speech-Language Pathologist at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts where she provides evaluation and treatment services for adults and children with dysphagia and is involved in program planning and development for inpatient and outpatient programming including quality improvement initiatives, patient education, and clinical policies and protocols. In addition, she is an adjunct faculty member at Elms College Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Over the course of her career, she has worked in a variety of clinical settings, provided numerous regional and national presentations, and lectured at several colleges and universities throughout Massachusetts. Angela is a sought-after speaker for both live and online continuing education courses as she seamlessly blends current research with clinical experience. She is a recent recipient of the Massachusetts Speech and Hearing Association’s Award for Clinical Excellence.