Educating Your Staff on Dysphagia - SOD

Course overview

Staff Education and inservices on feeding, thickening liquids, strategies and precautions are a necessary part of our job as speech pathologists or occupational therapists. If we don't do our job, the lack of staff education and knowledge may result in a choking or aspiration event or worse. Studies often show staff education component is either non-existent or very general. This course will identify specific points that should be covered in inservices including the rationale behind modified diets and thickened liquids, importance of thickening liquids - how to thicken and why various liquids are different. Strategies will be discussed that are often identified as important to follow during meals and the rationale behind the strategies/precautions. Numerous adaptive cups/straws will be reviewed. Free resources will be identified that can be provided to your staff as well as purchased resources to utilize in your trainings.