One of the most common problems that children and young people with CP can experience is difficulty with swallowing (the medical term for this is dysphagia). This is because CP can affect the strength, movement, coordination and sensations of the mouth, face and throat muscles, making it hard to suck, bite, chew and swallow food, fluid and saliva.

The two types of swallowing problems are:

• oropharyngeal dysphagia – caused by issues with the mouth and throat muscles and nerves, which make it difficult to move food from the mouth into the throat
• eosophageal dysphagia – caused by problems with how the lower esophageal sphincter works (this is the opening between the esophagus and the stomach).

Children and young people with CP who have difficulties swallowing are at a higher risk of being undernourished and dehydrated, developing aspiration pneumonia and having a reduced quality of life.

If you have any concerns at all about whether your child has swallowing difficulties, talk to your healthcare team about getting an assessment, because the cost of not knowing there is a swallowing problem can be life-threatening.

Your child may be referred to a speech therapist or a dietician. There are treatments and techniques that can help improve your child’s ability to swallow, including:

• changing the consistency of food or liquids
• having them tuck their chin in when they swallow
• encouraging them to chew more
• exercises to strengthen the swallowing muscles
• surgery for severe cases, such as putting a feeding tube in.

It is not always easy to tell that a child or young person is having difficulty swallowing. Occasional instances of coughing or vomiting may look like they have consumed something that didn’t agree with them.

Some common signs that a child or young person is having difficulty swallowing include:

• choking
• a constant cough
• drooling or a dry mouth
• fatigue
• heartburn
• nasal regurgitation (food or drink coming back out the nose)
• resistance to feeding or taking a long time to eat
• a sore throat
• tongue thrusting
• unexplained weight loss.