Abstract
A brief history of Japanese speech-language-therapists' support for children with eating and swallowing disorders is presented. How therapists should support is also described in this paper. It is important for therapists 1) to understand the characteristics of impairment caused by their disease, 2) to analyze their eating problems with respect to their whole development, and 3) to give supports that are really needed at each stage of their lives considering their caregivers and family situations. In approaching their problems, we should set up a hypothesis and treat them while considering the normal sensory-motor development of eating and swallowing. We should continue providing with treatment as we verify the validity of our approaches. It is necessary to understand that children's eating behavior is deeply related to communication and cognitive development. It is also desirable to develop original methods and devices.
