After Trach-Talk Device Placement: How to Care for Your Child

Trach-talk devices can help kids with tracheostomies speak and swallow.

In order to speak, a person needs to be able to breathe out through the mouth. Voice is made in the larynx (voice box), which is in the throat. When air passes through the larynx, the vocal cords vibrate and make sound. This sound travels out through the mouth, where it is shaped into words.

Kids with a tracheostomy (trach) tube can have trouble speaking because they breathe out through the trach, so the air does not pass the vocal cords or the mouth.

Trach-talk devices fit on the trach tube or inner cannula. When the child breathes in, a valve in the device opens, letting air in through the trach. When the child breathes out, the valve is closed and air goes through the larynx and out the mouth and nose. This allows speech. Trach-talk devices also can help with eating because being able to control breathing helps with swallowing.

Many kids feel anxious when they first get a trach-talk device because they are not used to breathing out through the mouth and nose. It can take time to get used to this new feeling.

• Use the valve as often as instructed by your health care provider.

• An adult who knows how to attach and remove the trach-talk device should be with your child at all times.

• Before attaching the device:

  • Suction your child's trach tube.

  • Make sure the cuff on your child's trach is deflated (if your child has an inflatable cuff).

• Do not have your child wear the valve for longer than the period recommended by your health care provider. You should also remove the valve:

  • For sleeping.

  • For breathing treatments.

  • If your child is restless, wheezes, grunts, or coughs a lot.

  • If your child can't speak or make noises with the mouth.

• Follow the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning the device.

• Only adults who have been trained on how to manage the trach-talk device should attach and remove it.

• If your child is in school or childcare, you may need to request that a trained staff member be with your child at all times.

Your child:

• Is not sleeping well.

• Is very uncomfortable with the device.

• Your child has trouble breathing through the trach.

• There is a problem with the trach that you can't fix at home.

• Trach-talk devices cannot be used with foam cuffs.

• How soon a child starts to speak after receiving a trach-talk device depends on the child's age and ability to understand.

• Trach-talk devices are not a good fit for every child. If the trach-talk device doesn't work for your child, your care team can help your child find other ways to communicate.