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Screening, Assessment and Interventions for Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia)...
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Screening, Assessment and Interventions for Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) in Neurodevelopmental Conditions

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Neurology & Neurodevelopmental Disorders".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2025) | Viewed by 963

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Antonella Cerchiari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Management and Diagnostic Innovations & Clinical Pathways Research Area, Neurorehabilitation and Adapted Physical Activity Day Hospital, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Interests: dysphagia; childhood feeding and swallowing disorders; speech and language therapy; disability; rehabilitation
Dr. Marco Tofani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Life Sciences, Health and Allied Healthcare Professions, Università degli Studi “Link Campus University”, 00165 Rome, Italy
Interests: disability; occupational therapy; rehabilitation; neurorehabilitation; outcome measures; assistive technology; migration; hand therapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Eugenio Maria Mercuri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Women Children and Public Health, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milano, MI, Italy
Interests: neuromuscular conditions; child neurology; congenital muscular dystrophy; outcome measures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Feeding and swallowing disorders are common in neurodevelopmental conditions and are described in both infants and children. It is estimated that 25–45% of children have feeding and swallowing disorders, and the percentage increases to 80% when referring to children with developmental disabilities.

There is an urgent need to establish proper strategies for the screening and assessment of this target population. Defining priorities for dysphagia rehabilitation and multidisciplinary intervention is urgently required for guaranteeing satisfactory outcomes and improved quality of life.

We are pleased to invite our estimated colleagues to provide evidence-based recommendations regarding dysphagia interventions from both medical and rehabilitation perspectives. The present research topic wants to explore strategies for multidisciplinary management to address clinical challenges, as well as highlight the children’s and parents’ point of views.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of existing assessment tools for feeding and swallowing disorders;
  • Pilot study and or protocol for dysphagia intervention;
  • Psychometric studies of outcome measures;
  • Descriptive studies for feeding and swallowing disorders in childhood;
  • Clinical innovation in the multidisciplinary management of feeding and swallowing disorders;
  • Family-integrated care and evidence-informed practice;
  • Treatment strategies for improving oral, pharyngeal, feeding/swallowing and respiratory functions.

Dr. Antonella Cerchiari
Dr. Marco Tofani
Prof. Dr. Eugenio Maria Mercuri
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • dysphagia
  • feeding and swallowing disorders
  • neurodevelopmental conditions
  • cerebral palsy
  • spinal muscular atrophy
  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy
  • autism spectrum disorder
  • rare and genetic diseases
  • traumatic brain injury
  • drooling and sialorrhea
  • rehabilitation
  • speech and language therapy
  • assessment
  • screening
  • gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 263 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Global Intensive Feeding Therapy (GIFT) for Children with CHARGE Syndrome: A Quasi-Experimental Study
by Antonella Cerchiari, Francesca Pizza, Giorgia Biondo, Carolina Giordani, Martina De Paolis, Gessica Della Bella, Massimiliano Raponi and Marco Tofani
Children 2025, 12(3), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/children12030362 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 507
Abstract
Background: This pilot investigation aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Global Intensive Feeding Therapy (GIFT) on feeding and swallowing abilities in children with CHARGE Syndrome (CS). GIFT is a novel rehabilitation program designed to leverage the principles of neuroplasticity, intensity, individualized treatment, and [...] Read more.
Background: This pilot investigation aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Global Intensive Feeding Therapy (GIFT) on feeding and swallowing abilities in children with CHARGE Syndrome (CS). GIFT is a novel rehabilitation program designed to leverage the principles of neuroplasticity, intensity, individualized treatment, and ecological validity. The program comprises 15 sessions conducted over one week, with sessions delivered three times per day. Methods: GIFT was preliminarily implemented in a cohort of seven children diagnosed with CS. To assess the risk of dysphagia, the Pediatric Screening–Priority Evaluation Dysphagia (PS-PED) was administered. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using three instruments: the Karaduman Chewing Performance Scale (KCPS) for chewing performance, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association National Outcome Measurement System (ASHA NOMS) for overall feeding abilities, and the Feeding Assessment Scale (FAS) to capture parents’ perceptions. Data were collected at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and at a six-month follow-up (T2). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was employed for statistical analysis, and effect sizes for specific outcomes were determined using Kendall’s W. Results: The findings indicated that children with CS were at a high risk of dysphagia as measured by the PS-PED at baseline. Statistically significant improvements in chewing performance were observed at the six-month follow-up (p < 0.05). Feeding abilities, as measured by the ASHA NOMS, showed significant enhancement immediately post-intervention (p = 0.02) and at the follow-up (p = 0.03). Similarly, parents reported significant improvements in their children’s feeding abilities at both post-intervention and follow-up assessments (p = 0.02), further corroborating the clinical benefits of the intervention. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that GIFT may be an effective rehabilitation program for addressing feeding and swallowing disorders in children with CS. Further studies with larger sample sizes and controlled designs are warranted to substantiate these findings and refine the intervention protocol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Screening, Assessment and Interventions for Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) in Neurodevelopmental Conditions)
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