Ultrasonic normative swallowing data in three/four year old children

by Zeidler, Stephanie J.

ULTRASONIC NORMATIVE SWALLOWING DATA IN THREE/FOUR YEAR OLD CHILDREN By Stephanie J. Zeidler This feasibility study will begin to fill a substantial gap within the current swallowing literature to develop normative parameters for hyoid bone movement with ultrasound in children three and four years of age. Twenty-one typically developing children were assessed via ultrasound by two different examiners in a series of bolus presentations. Both hyoid bone excursion and the speed of the excursion were evaluated. Two examiners conducted the ultrasound measurements separately to determine the inter rater reliability across examiners. Results indicated that there was a positive correlation between the examiners conducting the ultrasound measurements. These results support the hypothesis that ultrasound measurements may be duplicated across examiners when a child swallows a single bolus. Furthermore, a consistent bolus size was found to elicit single swallows for this age group, which could have significant clinical implications.