Are you experiencing difficulties swallowing?
There are a number of symptoms that indicate that you may have difficulties swallowing, including:
- Difficulties keeping food in your mouth
- Holding food in your mouth
- Coughing during or after meals
- Prolonged mealtime
- Difficulties or inability to swallow
- Choking during mealtime
- Feeling like food/drink gets stuck
- Inability to swallow
- Shortness of breath whilst eating and drinking
- Frequent chest infections
Whatever you are experiencing, we are here and happy to help.
What to Expect in your initial assessment with us
Your Speech Pathologist will conduct the following:
A case history discussion, including your current concerns, medical and social history etc.
A cranial nerve examination. Your oral musculature structure and function will be evaluated
An oral trial of food and fluids. We will observe you while you have a meal or eat and drink something
A therapy trial of any strategies. We will provide you with a few strategies to evaluate if they help in minimising your swallowing difficulties
Recommendations: We will discuss recommendations after the assessment and collaborate on next steps
A report will be sent to you approximately 1-2 weeks after your assessment with us.
How to prepare
Preparing is easy.
Ensure you have a computer / iPad with a camera and good internet connection
Prior to your session, please send us any previous reports you have on hand, including previous Speech Pathology reports, discharge reports, health professional reports (e.g. Dietitian, Occupational Therapy)
Please have a variety of food textures available, including at least one food type from the below categories:
Puree Foods: E.g. yogurt, pureed fruit, jelly
Soft Foods: E.g. Soft sandwich, mango, banana, pasta, poached fish
Hard Foods: E.g. Biscuit, apple, toast
Fluids: E.g. water, coffee, lemonade, soda water
You being comfortable is so important to us... so please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns prior to our meeting.
Our goal is to create a safe place to listen to your concerns and collaborate on the best way forward, to support your quality of life and comfort during mealtime.
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