Who is it for?
Patients of pediatric age who suffer from chronic and / or complex diseases and who have major difficulties, such as an alteration in the mechanisms of swallowing, or an alteration in the organic systems of speech production, such as Vocal Chord Dysfunction.
These are patients who often depend on the healthcare system, with frequent hospital care, multiple visits to different specialties, frequent and / or prolonged hospital admissions.
Speaking, eating, breathing, singing, running, bathing on the beach ... these are common and repetitive actions that take place throughout the day and that these children and adolescents cannot do in a natural way. Which affects their daily lives and that of their family.
Alterations in swallowing
The purpose of swallowing is to cover the nutritional needs of the individual. This must be done safely, without compromising the patient's health and effectively. It is important to emphasize the importance of being nourished and nourished, especially in times of growth, in order to have a good development at the motor, cognitive, psychosocial level ...
Difficulties in swallowing can be linked to chronic bronchitis and, sometimes, accompanied by fear of choking. When swallowing is not safe by mouth, other feeding systems, such as the gastric button or nasogastric tube, should be used. This entails significant difficulties in the day-to-day life of the family and in the child's relationship with others. That is why it is very important to be able to offer adequate treatment.
Vocal Chord Dysfunction
It causes airflow obstruction at the larynx by closing the vocal cords, which creates the impression of chest tightness, shortness of breath and cough, with a suffocation sensation, which occasionally causes the patient to fear dying during the episode
These episodes of dyspnea, sometimes with no known cause, are associated with stressful situations and often pass while the patient is sleeping, causing him to wake up frightened with a feeling of strangulation. When these episodes are repetitive, a tracheostomy should be performed to ensure the patient's life.
How can we help these patients?
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Patients with these dysfunctions need the intervention of a specialized speech therapist who works in collaboration with a team of professionals who treat these diseases.
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For the good evolution of the patient, it is very important to offer integrative speech therapy in the hospital setting, as they require frequent hospital visits and admissions.
- The care offered by the administration must be complemented in order to provide quality care to these children and their families in a situation of profound impact, which, in addition to other socioeconomic and socio-family elements, in many cases triggers a high vulnerability situation.
It is noteworthy that this project has already begun to be carried out and, recently, the work done at the 4th Congress of the College of Logopedes de Catalunya has been recognized, during which professionals from the Pediatric Medicine Service and from CDIAP they received the Best Clinical Case Award: “Children's vocal cord dysfunction. Model of interdisciplinary intervention in a hospital context. ”