Swallowing Therapy
Align Speech Therapy and Consulting provides evidence-based therapy to address swallowing disorders (dysphagia) often associated with stroke, brain injury, Parkinson's disease, dementia, and head and neck cancer. Therapy typically incorporates education on strategies to increase efficiency of swallowing, exercises to improve swallowing function, proper positioning, and compensatory strategy training. It is our goal to challenge the swallowing system beyond the normal activity level to increase function and create lasting changes.
Signs of a swallowing disorder:
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Coughing or throat clearing during meals
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Wet sounding voice during or after eating or drinking
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Extra time needed to chew or swallow
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Food getting stuck in the mouth
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Difficulty keeping liquids or saliva in the mouth
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History of pneumonia
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Weight loss or dehydration due to not eating or drinking enough
Therapy:
Together with your specialized speech-language pathologist, a personalized program will be developed to address the underlying swallowing issues. Individual programs will:
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Incorporate client food preferences in treatment
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Deliver therapy in a familiar eating environment, such as the client’s typical eating area at home
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Welcome participation or observation in therapy sessions throughout the therapy process
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Incorporate family and/or care partner training on our recommendations, considerations, and strategies for swallowing effectively and successfully during meals at home and out and about in the community
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Educate clients and family/care partners on swallowing home exercise program
We require our clients to have a modified barium swallow study prior to beginning therapy for dysphagia. This allows your therapist to see what is happening during the swallow in order to properly address the underlying issues. Please feel free to contact us with additional questions.
McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program
Amanda Barcaly, M.S., CCC-SLP is certified to provide the McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program (MDTP), a systematic exercise-based approach to swallowing therapy for adults with severe, chronic dysphagia. MDTP is often an appropriate program for patients post head and neck cancer, stroke, and other conditions who have been experiencing ongoing dysphagia and have not seen improvement with other programs. It has been shown to have positive results for patients who have been NPO (tolerating nothing by mouth) or tolerating very little oral intake for several months or years. Contact Amanda to learn more.
