Unraveling the Pediatric Swallow: A Focus on Surgically Treatable Causes of Aspiration

Sunday, October 18, 2026

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM PT

Location: 409AB

Mentor(s)

NB

Nancy M. Bauman, MD

Professor
Children's National Hospital, George Washington University of Health Sciences
Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Co-Presenter(s)

Samantha B. Allen, MD

Assistant Professor
Children's National and George Washington University
Washington, DC, United States

Lead Presenter(s)

CL

Courtney A. Long, M.Ed, CCC-SLP, CLC, NTMTC

Lead Speech-Language Pathologist-Inpatient Services, Division of Speech and Language Services
Children's National Hospital, United States

Disclosure(s):

Samantha B. Allen, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Pediatric dysphagia is classified as oral, pharyngeal (including aspiration and penetration), oropharyngeal (combined oral and pharyngeal) and esophageal. Identified etiologies include sensory, motor, anatomic, psychosocial, and developmental causes.
Our panel's otolaryngologists will:
• Review normal swallow physiology
• Discuss surgically treatable causes of dysphagia including:
o Laryngomalacia
o Immobile vocal cords
o Post-cricoid vascular cushion
o Laryngeal clefts
Our speech and language pathologist will:
• Highlight cues of feeding disorders
• Discuss instrumental tools for feeding assessment
• Discuss compensatory feeding strategies
• Review standardized measures of diet, (IDDSI, FOIS)
We hope you will join us to further explore this enigmatic condition, both as a clinician and surgeon.

Learning Objectives:

To understand the normal development of a pediatric patient's swallow, types of dysphagia and a standardized approach to assessing a child's oral intake
To understand the speech and language pathologist’s approach to diagnosing and managing pediatric dysphagia focusing on diagnosis and intervention.
To recognize surgically treatable causes of dysphagia in pediatric patients, particularly in infants, and learn surgical pearls of management.