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Childhood obesity is one of the top health concerns in our nation. It is now common knowledge that high sugar intake contributes to tooth decay, as well as weight gain that leads to a host of other medical problems, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease; nevertheless, there are still many speech-language pathologists that use sweets as a reinforcer in treatment. It is ethical to incorporate speech prompts into a routine that a family already has in place, like an after-school treat, but we should not add refined sugars to a child's diet.
I have worked firsthand with teens who were hundreds of pounds overweight after years of eating refined sugar in their therapies. There are ways to motivate children that do not cause harm. Certainly it can be difficult to identify an effective reinforcer, especially when it is something that is hard for us to relate to, like a piece of lint or math problems. When we are at a loss, we need to ask our colleagues for help. Refined sugar should not be an option.
Carrie Lundell
Gaithersburg, MD
Carolyn_A_Lundell@mcpsmd.org
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