Siobhan Ryan: speech and language therapist at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin
I start my day at 9.15 a.m and work until 4.45 p.m. I spend each day dealing with different referrals from the consultants in the hospital and at outpatient clinics.
As the hospital holds a number of specialities, for example, oncology and cardiology, there is a broad range of referrals.
We are a small department with limited resources so we prioritise children with the greatest need. We do a lot of work to improve feeding in babies and children with feeding difficulties.
It is a very stressful and anxious time for parents if feeding isn't going well so it's important to identify what might be underlying the feeding/swallowing dysfunction.
For example, this might be related to a structural problem as in a cleft of the hard or soft palate or indicative of an underlying neurological condition which would need further investigation.
We will sometimes recommend cup or spoon feeding if a baby is having a lot of difficulties establishing a safe and efficient suck-swallow and breathe pattern for bottle or breast-feeding.
Earlier feeding problems can sometimes be associated with later developmental problems, including speech and language development, so getting in early can result in early identification and intervention for such children.
In general, young children and babies who are awaiting their cardiac surgery are also at risk of disrupted feeding patterns due to reduced energy for oral feeding so part of my job is to establish an oral feeding pattern that suits the child before surgery so it can be more easily built upon in the post-operative period.
I also see children who are experiencing speech and language difficulties due to a viral or bacterial illness such as meningitis or a seizure disorder such as epilepsy.
Here, my role is to support the child and the family to cope with the loss of language.
Baseline assessments and regular reviews are an important aspect of monitoring the impact a child's illness is having on his/her language processing.
Due to the national shortfall in speech and language therapy posts, there can be a delay in receiving follow-on community services immediately following discharge so keeping a link with the hospital if they are returning for other appointments is important.
Our Lady's Hospital has a national paediatric airway service and I work with a lot of children who require a tracheostomy (an operation in which a tube is inserted in the front of the wind pipe for breathing until the normal airway paths are restored) for the management of their upper airway obstruction.
I like my work because of its variety and many challenges that crop up in each working day which, overall, results in great job satisfaction.