“Eating” isn’t easy! Happy Mount kids strive to swallow tasty food

Eating is an important part of daily life, but to the kids at Happy Mount’s Special Care Department, it is also a very difficult challenge. To avoid choking while swallowing food, each moment from the pre-meal massage to the post-meal rest, requires meticulous attention and care. Kids in the special care department require an oral massage before each meal, and each person's treatment is tailored by a speech therapist.

In addition to the pre-meal oral massage, therapists also blend the kids’ food into a pulp, making it easier for kids to swallow. The eating position of each child must be carefully adjusted and some kids eat with specially designed spoons, one spoonful at a time. Determined not to give up, the kids persevere trying to feel the sensation of food on their tongues and swallow each and every bite, which is essential if they are to maintain their vitality. Hopefully, with the warmth of society at large, Happy Mount kids will continue to show strong motivation.

 “Eating” isn’t easy! Happy Mount kids strive to swallow tasty food 
URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/286797 

(以下是中文對照)

「 吃飯」不簡單 樂山孩子努力嚥下口口美好

吃飯，是日常生活的一部份。但對樂山教養院愛護班的孩子而言，卻是辛苦的挑戰。從飯前按摩到飯後休息，每一個瞬間都需要注意、關心，以免孩子因為吞嚥困難，發生嗆咳的危險。每餐開動前，愛護班的孩子們都需要進行口腔按摩，而每個人的療程，也經由語言治療師量身打造。

除了飯前按摩，吃飯時，老師們會先將食物攪碎、甚至磨成小碎末，方便孩子們依照自己的能力吞嚥。待調整好每個人的吃飯姿勢後，愛護班的孩子們也使用特殊設計的湯匙，一口一口吃著。為了感受食物在舌尖上的美好、為了吞下每一口維持生命的力量，孩子們沒有放棄，希望社會也能給予溫暖，讓樂山的孩子們擁有繼續加油的動力。