First Bite #166 – October 05, 2021
The Fabulously Fed Life of a J-Tube User
(.1 ASHA and AOTA CEUs) For more info, click here.
Course Description
In this episode, Michelle is joined by Breanne Dalton, a second-year graduate speech-language pathology student from the University of Southern Mississippi who has more first-hand experience, wisdom, and joy to share with respect to feeding tubes, than most SLPs will ever acquire… all because she has walked the walk of a being a J-Tube user! During this hour, Breanne shares signs and symptoms of delayed gastrointestinal mobility/gastroparesis, the numerous steps and procedures involved in the diagnostic process that was ordered by her various GI physicians, as well as how she came to embrace the ultimate decision to obtain a J-tube and G-Tube…which let her embody a life that is living proof of the joy found in the motto “fed is fed is fed is fed”! This is one of the most candid interviews that First Bite has had the privilege of sharing, we hope it shapes your evidence-based practice with the same level of hope and understanding that it did ours.
Objective
By the end of this PodCourse, participants will be able to identify and describe:
- The signs and symptoms of delayed GI motility and gastroparesis.
- 3 steps and procedures often involved in the GI diagnostic process.
- Components of a care for a j-tube user.
Co-Presenter

Breanne Dalton
Breanne Dalton is a second year graduate student in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Southern Mississippi and has had the privilege to serve as her university’s student liaison on the Mississippi Speech, Language, Hearing Association’s (MSHA) Healthcare Committee. She presented at the 2021 MSHA conference and aided in the creation of the MSHA student committee to improve student involvement in the state organization. Her own complex health experiences have inspired her to become an Early Intervention Speech-Language Pathologist focused on assessment and treatment of Pediatric Feeding Disorder. She recognizes and embraces that as a feeding tube user herself, she brings a unique perspective to the field of speech-language pathology, and to the families and their children that she will serve. Breanne is passionate about illustrating that the necessity of a feeding tube or artificial nutrition method of nourishment does not constitute the end of a story, but rather the beginning of a new chapter where so many things can be achieved with proper nutrition – fed is fed is fed!