What is Dysphagia?
Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing. It is when people have trouble moving food, liquid, pills or even saliva out of the mouth, through the throat and esophagus (food tube), and into the stomach.
SwallowStudy.com Blog
Take the RAD out of Radiation! Radiation-Associated Dysphagia
Take the RAD out of Radiation-Associated Dysphagia (RAD): What We Know About Acute through Late Effects of Chemoradiation By Allison Bartholow, MS, MS, CCC-SLP & Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP,...
Dysphagia Digest: Why DRS?
DRS Digest 2024: Why DRS ~ Part 1 by Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Introduction to Why DRS Almost 400 people gathered in San Juan Puerto Rico this March from 22 different...
Bread of Life? Evidence on Choking Risks with Bread
Bread of Life? Evidence on Choking Risks with Bread by Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com in collaboration with Dr. Catriona M. Steele, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA Fellow, Dr. Julie...
Resources and Services We Offer
About Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995 with a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. There, I was influenced by great mentors in the field of swallowing and swallowing disorders (dysphagia) like Jay Rosenbek, JoAnne Robbins, and James Coyle. Once the “dysphagia-bug” bit, I have never looked back. Initially, I worked in skilled nursing facilities and rehabilitation centers, but since 1999 I have been in acute care. I obtained my Board Certification as a Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (BCS-S) in August of 2012. I am committed to life-long-learning. I was awarded my 10th ASHA Award for Continuing Education (ACE Award) in May 2024. I am committed to increasing public awareness in dysphagia. I was awarded the Hormel Health Hero Award in 2019. I am a member of the Dysphagia Research Society (DRS), the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s Special Interest Group 13: Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders, and the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders (NFOSD), and the International & US IDDSI Reference Groups. I am co-chair of the Public Relations & Communications Committee of the American Board of Swallowing & Swallowing Disorders, and I was elected to the board for the 2023-2025 term.
I started SwallowStudy.com in May 2014 to create a valuable evidence-based dysphagia resource for professionals and people with difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). I formed SwallowStudy & Associates, LLC in December 2023.
News
Online Training & Webinars
With her clinical expertise, connections with researchers around the world and witty humor, bring Karen on to enrich your next conference, lecture series or webinar.
Testimonials
Contact
For COVID updates please visit ASHA.org or follow the links below