RESOURCES & DISCIPLINES Bring This Course to You!
Dysphagia in Focus is a series of 4 practical courses designed to guide dysphagia therapists through the full continuum of care. From bedside evaluations to instrumental assessments, diet modifications and strategies, and individualized therapy planning. Each course may be taken independently for CEUs, allowing clinicians to focus on specific areas of interest or need.
We work with individuals living in our communities or facilities who have a dysphagia diagnosis. Once their evaluation is done, the real work begins. We address recommendations for safe oral intake, diet, thickening liquids, mealtime strategies, feeding, and supervision. Residents are at risk if staff and family have not been educated on the correct methods of thickening. Staff and family often think the liquids are "thick enough", but these often test as "thin". Caregivers and staff must consistently follow through on swallow precautions, but they may not be clear on exactly what those are or why it's important to be consistent. Adaptive equipment may be necessary to control bite and/or sip size, as recommended. Mouthcare is an essential component of a resident's care. Good oral care can help minimize the risk of aspiration-related adverse reactions but may not be consistent. In addition, many of our residents have MIP or medication intake problems. Often, we're involved when there are concerns about swallowing medications, crushing, cutting, and safety. This information must be added to the resident's care plan. This course will address all of these issues, providing you with tools and resources for implementation.
ATTENDANCE:
LIVESTREAMS ONLY:
COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS:
CE CREDIT:
See CE Credit Tab for professional board approval information
Denise Dougherty, MA, CCC-SLP
Denise owns and operates a private practice in Indiana, PA, where she conducts therapy with both children and adults. She is a legal consultant/expert witness in wrongful death/negligence lawsuits involving dysphagia. Denise is a co-editor of Private Practice Essentials: A Practical Guide for Speech-Language Pathologists, published by ASHA Press. She has presented workshops and written numerous articles appearing in the ASHA Leader on the topic of private practice. Denise served as a consultant for The Arijah Children’s Foundation in Anguilla, BWI, providing evaluations and therapy programs for special needs children. Ms. Dougherty was an adjunct faculty member at York College of Pennsylvania and Wesley College in Dover, Delaware. She is a past President of the American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology and Audiology (AAPPSPA), and received the Academy’s 2007 Honor Award and 2014 Award of Excellence for her achievements. Ms. Dougherty is a member of the Technical Experts Panel for Quality of Insights of Pennsylvania, working on initiating quality measures for CMS to improve effectiveness, efficiency, economy and quality of services delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. She received her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders from Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania; a master’s degree in communication disorders from St. Louis University. Ms. Dougherty is certified in VitalStim® therapy and is a VitalStim® instructor, has completed additional training in orofacial myology, is a member of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association, is a consultant for DOJ and has received numerous ASHA ACE Awards. For more information, please visit www.dldspeechpath.com.
Financial Disclosure Denise receives honoraria from CIAO for the presentation of her live courses and royalties for the sale of her online courses. Denise is in private practice and receives legal consultant/expert witness fees
Non-Financial Disclosure: There are no non-financial relationships to disclose.
1:00 PM CST START TIME
Intermediate Level
0.4 ASHA CEUs
CIAO Automatically reports to CE Broker for Florida Occupational and Physical Therapists and Assistants. Florida SLPs can either use the ASHA CE Participant Form (Bubble Sheet) or self-submit through CE Broker.
CIAO is recognized on the NBCOT Provider Registry (meets PDU requirements for NBCOT)
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