Research Outcomes: Pediatric Swallowing Disorders — Maureen Lefton-Greif, Ph.D., M.A.

Maureen Lefton-Greif, a Johns Hopkins speech-language pathologist, discusses her latest research on dysphagia and the video fluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS). The findings on this X-ray focus on the swallowing mechanism function that is not visible during clinical exams. They are also good for discovering if swallowing is sufficient to meet the nutritional goal. However, due to variables in the results, a new tool — the BaByVFSSImP — was created. The development of this novel tool may lead to improved clinical practice, future research and better the outcomes for bottle-fed infants with dysphagia.