dysphagia matters

Join us in this episode as we explore the world of pediatric feeding disorders in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) with Dr. Pamela Dodrill , a Pediatric Feeding Specialist. Together with her co-authors, Pamela developed a consensus definition and conceptual framework for pediatric feeding disorders and she was part of the FOIS-P team, the Functional Oral Intake Scale for pediatrics. We talk...

As clinicians working in dysphagia management, providing guidance on different consistencies to support our patients in their rehabilitation process and daily life is a fundamental aspect of our clinical responsibilities. However, effective communication about these consistencies is a recurring challenge for both patients and clinicians. In previous episodes, you have already heard us talk about I...

In this episode we speak to Dr. Paula Leslie and explore the ethical considerations that shape patient care. Paula discusses the delicate balance between benefits and risks that must be maintained specifically in the management of dysphagia. She also provides insights into real-life ethical dilemmas and shares global perspectives that influence our clinical practice as dysphagia clinicians working...

At this year’s conference of the European Society for Swallowing Disorders (ESSD), we had the great pleasure of speaking with Prof. Maggie-Lee Huckabee . Together we discussed her recently published article “The Evolution of Swallowing Rehabilitation and Emergence of Biofeedback Modalities” ( Huckabee et al., 2023 ). Maggie-Lee explains how our understanding of swallowing and swa...

Pneumonia is considered one of the most critical consequences of dysphagia, and in some patient populations it is a leading cause of death. Although pneumonia plays a major role in our clinical decision-making process as SLTs, we felt that we did not know enough about it. To change that, we invited Dr Harmeet Bedi , a pulmonologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, to join us for an episo...

In this episode, Prof. Janina Wilmskoetter takes us on a journey into the depths of the brain to help us understand the potential impact of stroke on swallowing.  Why does a stroke cause dysphagia in some people and not in others? And why do some recover more quickly than others? Does the location or size of the lesion matter at all? We had lots of questions for Janina and we were deligh...

In this episode we speak to Prof. Michelle Troche and delve into the crucial topic of airway protection and its connection to swallowing and coughing. Together we explore two approaches: Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) as a strength based approach and the skill based approach called sensorimotor training for airway protection (smTAP). Michelle explains the relevance of training airway p...

One challenge in dysphagia rehabilitation is the complexity of swallowing itself. Swallowing involves a series of intricate muscle movements and coordination, and it can be challenging for individuals with dysphagia to gain optimal control. Principles of motor learning can greatly enhance dysphagia rehabilitation by providing a systematic framework for optimising the (re-) learning process an...

A clinical setting that we have not yet covered in this podcast is the intensive care unit (ICU). We were very lucky to have Sarah Wallace OBE as our guest, as she brings a lot of expertise from working clinically as an SLT in critical care as well as conducting research in this field. In this episode, Sarah will explain why dysphagia on the ICU is multifactorial, why it is so important to restore...

In dysphagia management we often think about how our patients can swallow food and liquids the safest and most efficient way and what consistencies are best suited for them. But what about nutritional and hydration needs in people with dysphagia? In this episode we speak to Prof. Rainer Wirth about different nutritional and hydration requirements for elderly people, people with presbyphagia and dy...

Dear English speaking listeners: This episode is in German. Es wurde Zeit für eine neue Folge auf Deutsch! Während der diesjährigen Tagung der deutschen Gesellschaft für Dysphagie (DGD) in Köln haben wir mit Prof. Stefanie Duchac über die videofluoroskopische Untersuchung des Schluckens (VFSS) gesprochen.  Sie gibt einen Überblick über die technischen Fragen, erklärt die Relevanz der Frame An...

Ultrasound is an emerging tool for the assessment of swallowing and treatment of dysphagia. But how can SLTs actually make use of it? And what does it add to our toolbox? To learn more about this new approach, we invited Jodi Allen. She explains what we can do with an ultrasound assessment, where its boundaries are and how we can implement it in our clinical practice. Helpful literature mentioned...

Do you use oral trials in dysphagia management? Do you know what the current evidence base is? In short: oral trials are recommended frequently as a rehabilitation approach in clinical practice, but the evidence base to support it is scarce. So, how exactly do we apply oral trials as a dysphagia intervention? Which patients are suitable? Is it a safe and effective approach? Tune in to this episode...

Our guest in this episode is Dr. Órla Gilheaney. Not only is she a clinician, lecturer and researcher working in the field of invisible conditions such as fibromyalgia, but she is also a person living with fibromyalgia herself.  Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder that can cause various symptoms such as widespread pain, fatigue, muscle stiffness, problems with mental processes (“fibro-fog”) an...

Bodhi is now 3 years old. When he was about 6 weeks, his parents first noticed something was different. They now know that Bodhi has severe dysphagia but still don’t know the underlying cause. Bodhi’s mum Kelly talks about the different assessments Bodhi went through, the diagnoses he was given, the lack of awareness of paediatric dysphagia and the impact on a family’s life when having a child wit...

How do we know what outcomes to measure and when to measure them when designing clinical trials? And how can we make studies more comparable, so that researchers measure the same outcomes with the same assessment at the same time points? One solution is the development and application of Core Outcome Sets (COS). Dr. Sarah Gorst and Dr. Nicola Harman share their knowledge on Core Outcome Sets, how...

Coughing and swallowing are two important functions, both providing airway protection and therefore being essential for survival. However, as students and clinicians we usually learn a lot more about swallowing than about coughing. And often, evaluating the cough function in the dysphagia assessment goes down with simply asking the patient to cough and subjectively assessing the effectiveness of t...

Have you ever wondered what is going on in dysphagia experts’ minds when they are seeing a new patient for the first time? What details do they look out for? What are the rationales for upcoming steps in their clinical management? For this episode, we invited Dr Ulrike Frank and Dr James Curtis , two experienced clinicians and researchers, presented them a case scenario and accompanied them on the...

Have you ever hit a paywall and could not access an article without being asked to pay for it? Wouldn’t it be great if all research would be transparent and openly available?  In this episode we talk about open science in dysphagia research with James Borders . He takes a deep dive into the core practices of open science: pre-registration, self-archiving, gold open access, open data and regis...

In this episode we speak with Kristin, whose daughter Mackenzie had severe swallowing difficulties. Kristin talks openly about their journey from the first cough and choke until a diagnosis and treatment. She also shares the struggles of not getting information but how the internet could help her. She also gives some pretty good advice to all clinicians working with kids with feeding and swallowin...

Dear English speaking listeners: this is part 2 of our German episode. We will return later in August with English episodes. Im zweiten Teil unseres Gesprächs zu “Dysphagie bei Menschen mit ALS” mit Ulrich Birkmann geht es um die Therapie von Dysphagien und wie wir unseren Fokus bei der Behandlung von reaktiv auf proaktiv lenken können. Wer Ulis tolles Projekt “Dysphagie 2 Go” zusammen mit Yasemin...

Dear English speaking listeners: this episode is in German. We will be back with English episodes in August. Anlässlich der diesjährigen Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Dysphagie (DGD) in Potsdam haben wir eine Episode mit Ulrich Birkmann auf Deutsch aufgenommen. Wir widmen uns einem komplexen, aber sehr spannenden Thema: Dysphagie bei Amyotropher Lateralsklerose (ALS). Uli erklärt in...

Part 2 of “How to PhD” is all about the process of finding a good mentor for your PhD project. Our guest Dr. Nadine Connor has mentored many PhD students herself. In this episode, she shares her experiences by explaining different styles of mentoring, what mentors and mentees can or should expect from each other and how you can find out if someone could be a suitable mentor for you. This can also...

This time, we have two great guests who share their very own experiences with doing a PhD: Dr Irene Battel has just recently finished her PhD at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and Beatrice Manduchi is right in the middle of her PhD at the University of Toronto, Canada. They talk about the highs and lows and the importance of doing a PhD in the field of speech and language therapy and especially...

Dr. Margaret Walshe joined us for this episode to discuss the first step in the process of dysphagia assessment: screening. She shares her expertise on who should be screened when and by whom and gives recommendations on how to decide for the best suitable screening tool. She explains why it is important to look beyond sensitivity and specificity when assessing the diagnostic accuracy of a test an...