Pre-recorded sessions will be on-demand and last about an hour, so you can watch them whenever time permits!
Adult and Aging Swallowing Physiology: Understanding Normal Variation
Bonnie Martin-Harris, PhD, CCC-SLP
Speech-language pathologists often struggle to distinguish between normal and impaired swallowing in adults of different ages. This session will explain how swallowing normally works in healthy adults and how it naturally changes as people age. The presenter will use evidence-based approaches, including the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile™ (MBSImP), to help explain the difference between normal swallowing variations and actual swallowing disorders. You'll learn practical strategies to accurately interpret what you see during instrumental assessment and create personalized care plans for your patients.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
An Evidence-Based Approach to Triaging Risk for Swallowing Impairment: Critical Steps Before the Clinical Swallow Exam
Justine Dallal-York, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
This session will share evidence-based, practical approaches to inform clinical decision-making processes and optimize screening and referral systems for patients at high risk for dysphagia and aspiration. Learn how to efficiently interpret key elements of an electronic medical record (EMR)—such as lab values, vital signs, medications, and radiographic imaging—to optimize screening and assessment practices.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Making the Patient the Core of the Decision-Making Process
Jennifer Hanners Gutierrez, PhD, CCC-SLP
This session will discuss why patients and/or caregivers may desire oral nutrition, the risks and benefits of oral vs. tube feeding, medical ethics, patient rights, and how to provide evidence-based education and documentation related to least-risk oral feeding. Learn how informed consent, biomedical ethics, and patient rights cannot be disconnected from this educational process.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
More than the Medical Record: The Role of Lived Experience in Dysphagia Care
Raele Donetha Loy, PhD, CCC-SLP
This session will discuss person-centered approaches and practical strategies for bridging the gap between what is documented in a patient’s medical record and their lived experiences, cultural context, and social conditions. The speaker will explore the concept of lived experience as a clinical system and discuss how to identify sociocultural misalignments in care. The session will include case-based examples, reflection opportunities, and documentation strategies. This session brings a novel, systems-level lens to swallowing care by positioning lived experience as a vital source of clinical data. (This session can count toward the ASHA certification maintenance professional development requirement for CC/DEI.)
After completing this session, you will be able to:
The Clinical Swallow Examination: Step-by-Step Guidance for Immediate Clinical Translation
Kendrea Garand, PhD, CScD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
This session will review the clinical utility of the clinical swallow examination (CSE), including a step-by-step review through the components that contribute to a comprehensive examination. The presenter will discuss clinical decision-making for judgements regarding swallow safety and efficiency in managing the patient's plan of care. The session will include videos to enhance learning and retention.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Clinical Swallowing Exams: Strengths and Limitations
Kendrea Garand, PhD, CScD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
This session will explore the strengths and limitations for interpreting clinical swallow examination (CSE) results, including implications for dysphagia management in adult populations across clinical settings. The speaker will contrast CSEs with instrumental swallow examinations and share resources to maximize clinical usefulness of the clinical swallow exam. Note: This course was originally offered as part of the 2022 online conference Controversies and Consensus in Dysphagia Management—and is currently available as an on-demand session as part of the ASHA Learning Pass (PD102468).
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Enhancing the Impact of Instrumental Assessments for Managing Dysphagia in Adults
Nancy Swigert, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
Instrumental exams can provide crucial information necessary to manage dysphagia in adults. SLPs need to combine their understanding of physiology with multiple related factors to determine if an instrumental exam is needed, which exam is indicated, when it is needed, and why. Then they must use effective communication and documentation to explain the rationale for recommendations and findings to the patient, family, and other team members. In addition, SLPs need to ensure effective collaboration between the professional who performs the instrumental exam and the treating SLP. In this course, you’ll learn to address the many important factors and improve collaboration, communication, and documentation as you apply information obtained through instrumental exams. Note: This course is currently available as an on-demand webinar as part of the ASHA Learning Pass (PD102838).
After completing this session, you will be able to:
From Symptom to System: Addressing Dysphagia-Related Risk Through Holistic Prevention
Ashwini Namasivayam-MacDonald, PhD, CCC-SLP, SLP(C)
This session will explore preventing dysphagia-related illness by considering the whole person and their environment, not just their symptoms. The speaker will examine how individual, environmental, and health care system factors can either increase risks or help prevent problems. Drawing on current research and theoretical frameworks, the session will discuss common concerns including aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, oral hygiene, frailty, and psychosocial well-being, as well as highlight the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration for holistic prevention. The speaker will use a clinical case example to discuss real-world application.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Preventing Dysphagia-Related Illness: Addressing Individualized Risk Factors
Aaron Padilla, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
This session will discuss the range of risk factors and possible outcomes for patients with swallowing disorders. The session will explore how to identify each patient's level of risk and specific risk factors, work effectively with other health care professionals, and focus on modifiable factors that can be improved.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Exercise-Based Treatment for Dysphagia Management: Principles and Evidence
Michelle S. Troche, PhD, CCC-SLP
This session will explain the key concepts of strength training, motor learning, and brain adaptability (neuroplasticity) and how SLPs can integrate them into dysphagia treatment. The speaker will discuss how these principles can help SLPs develop dysphagia management plans that result in robust, generalizable, and maintained improvements to swallowing and cough in patients with dysphagia.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Critical Factors in Dysphagia Treatment Planning and Delivery
Molly Knigge, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
Dysphagia treatment is a dynamic process born of targeted, individualized assessment. Competency in treatment planning and delivery requires clinicians to navigate multiple factors that influence outcomes. This session will explore patient, clinician, treatment, and timing factors that are critical in optimizing planning and execution. The session will include opportunities for self-assessment in each of these factor domains and encourage participants to consider their individual clinical strengths and learning needs for expanding competency in dysphagia treatment delivery.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
To Thicken or Not to Thicken? Review of the Evidence on Diet Texture Modification
Catriona M. Steele, PhD, CCC-SLP, S-LP(C), Reg. CASLPO, F-ESSD
This session will review key evidence from the literature regarding diet texture modification in dysphagia management. The speaker will discuss current practice and debate regarding texture modification, how consistency impacts swallowing function and physiology, effectiveness of thickened liquids for reducing aspiration, and risks associated with aspiration of thickened liquids. The speaker will also share resources and tools for empowering patients and caregivers to select foods and drinks that are likely to improve swallowing safety and efficiency.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
From Consultation to Collaboration: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Diet Modifications for Patients With Dysphagia
Marilouise E. Nichols, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
This session will highlight how SLPs can utilize diet modification as an effective dysphagia management tool. Learn how SLPs can improve collaboration with interdisciplinary team members—particularly patients and their families—to move toward less-restrictive diet modification recommendations.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Dysphagia, Ethics, and Tough Conversations: Counseling Strategies for Balancing Risk and Patient Choice
Amanda Stead, PhD, CCC-SLP, CHSE
Navigating difficult conversations in dysphagia management requires both ethical reasoning and strong counseling skills. This session will equip SLPs with strategies to facilitate challenging discussions with medical teams, patients, and families regarding NPO recommendations, risk tolerance, and care goals. The speaker will explore how to balance patient autonomy with medical concerns while addressing disagreements among stakeholders. The session will include practical techniques and case studies that demonstrate effective communication skills to manage emotions, align care teams, and support shared decision-making in complex swallowing care scenarios. (This session can count toward the ASHA certification maintenance professional development requirement for Ethics.)
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Honoring the Individual: Supporting Dignity and Quality of Life in End-of-Life Care
Brittany Horvath, SLPD, CCC-SLP, and Marissa James, EdD, CScD, CCC-SLP
This session will focus on managing dysphagia in individuals with advanced illnesses, emphasizing the balance of clinical needs with emotional and ethical considerations in end-of-life care. Speakers will share case scenarios as a basis for exploring effective, compassionate care that promotes dignity and comfort. (This session can count toward the ASHA certification maintenance professional development requirement for Ethics.)
After completing this session, you will be able to:
Measuring What Matters: Progress Monitoring and Discharge Decisions in Dysphagia Management
Debra Suiter, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
This session will share practical strategies for determining when to discharge patients with dysphagia, including how to accurately measure progress and adjust treatment plans. The speaker will discuss shared decision-making, timing of reassessment, and evaluating progress using objective assessment tools. The session will share insights into using structured frameworks to assess discharge readiness, emphasizing patient-centered care approaches.
After completing this session, you will be able to:
"I loved how there were different perspectives on the same subject. I liked the tips and practical strategies that were provided."