9 year old with fear of swallowing by Worried Dad

Posted Today 7:23 AM (GMT -6) By worried dad
Hi all

I just read this thread of fear of swallowing, because my 9 year old daughter has just started to develop it.

Its been one week now, and the little thing is getting worse.

For my reading on the net, it sould like this thing is a psychological condition that is rear and overcomable. Is that right ?

I would love to hear of case histories of this conditions, be it of adult or children, to help me and my wife understand this condition more clearly.

How does it start, and then escalate ?

What is going on inside the head of the sufferer, before and during eating and drinking episodes?

What do they think of when people advise them and try to help them?

What works and what doesn't work when helping a person going through this ?

She used to be a healthy normal child who enjoyed her food. No it take her 1-2 hours to eat half a bowl of food and she has become very fussy.

We need all the help we can get because she had turned to not talking to us, the most we can get out of here is a few sentences a day!

I thank you in advance.

Hello worried dad and welcome. I am so sorry that your daughter is going through this. My youngest daughter is nine as well, and I know how I would feel if she was suffering.
I agree that your daughter needs to be seen by the doctor. The sudden onset of symptoms and behavior change makes me also wonder if it could be an illness that should be addressed.
If it does turn out to be purely behavioral (due to stress ect...) the doctor would then be able to refer you to a child therapist/psychologist, so either way, your general doctor is definitely the place to start.
I hope that you can get the answers that you need very soon. Post anytime with questions or concerns. We wish your family happiness and health.
Scaredy Cat

We had a full medical examination run on her and it came up with nothing. No infection, no scaring, no swelling, and  no pain. So we can rule out medical. In addition she has never had any incident of chocking, nor has she been traumatized by  experiencing someone chocking or even dying. She comes from a loving family and has not been subject to any form or mistreatment or abuse.

It would be great to here from other who have gone through such a situation  to help us understand this.

If someone could answer the questions I posted it would be a real help.

Thanks.

Post Edited (worried dad) : 5/6/2011 10:28:13 PM (GMT-6)

My now 11 year old son has this issue. about 2 years ago, he had an experience where he had trouble swallowing cheese. He stopped eating cheese but then started having more and more where he wouldn't eat things that looked stringy or tough to chew. We went through all the tests we could. We even did one test where they showed him on a screen that his throat opened and the food goes down the right path. He got somewhat better but it has recently come back. He has minor anxiety about a lot of things so this multiplies with his normal level of anxiety. We talk through it, but if we do that while he is eating, it only makes it worse. We will have to more than likely find someone he can talk about this with and help him get through it. I started having him weigh himself each morning to see the effect of not eating. We talk about it during non-eating times and he knows what's going on, he just can't pinpoint exactly what to do about it.
My wife and I have spent considerable time reading through as much as we can find, but unfortunately, we haven't found any real solutions.

My 9 yr old sometimes feels this way too. She becomes anxious easily, but she aslo has acid reflux and that makes her throat feel tight sometimes. I have helped her calm down with breathing excercises (in through her nose, count to 4, exhale slowly, repeat) and I also encourage her to take small bite and chew her food very thoroughly. It seems to help her.

AllieJp I would love to hear what you have to say on this topic. My daughter has been having issues on this for awhile now(age 10 1/2). She has had gerd int he past, but that seems fine now. She has been seeing a psychologist off and on for 2 years (my emotional child). We have also found out she has a mild sensory disorder, but the fact that a year or so ago she could eat 2 double cheeseburgers to now barely getting half of one down and takes forever to eat. She is seeing OT but any advice or anything would be great. She has had the swallow tests and such also, and it appears liquids are fine but solids do not go down easily. Thanks