How can I tell if a child is able to eat and drink by mouth?
You will need to talk to the speech pathologist and doctor to work out if a child is ready to eat and drink. For children to be able to eat and drink by mouth they must be able to swallow safely and must be healthy. This means that they need a well-coordinated swallow to send food and drink from the mouth to the stomach without passing it into the wind-pipe and lungs. Specific tests to look at swallowing (such as videofluoroscopy – x-ray) may be needed to determine whether or not a child is aspirating.
