By: Karen Sheffler
Transform Dysphagia Care: Thrive with 8 Tips on Person-Centered Care By Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Introduction to Person-Centered Care If you or a loved one has recently been diagnosed with a swallowing disorder (dysphagia), the...
Hidden Struggle: 7 Updates in Dysphagia from Head and Neck Cancer By Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Introduction to Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer June is Dysphagia Awareness Month, and we continue to uncover challenges that...
Dive Into Esophageal Dysphagia: Structure, Motility & More By Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Welcome to Week 2 of our National Dysphagia Awareness Month series. This week, we are taking a deep dive down the esophagus (part of the...
Rewiring Neurogenic Dysphagia: Finding Hope in the Brain-Swallow Connection Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Introduction This June, for Dysphagia Awareness Month we are embarking on a four-week journey to discover the complexities of...
Dysphagia Awareness Month: What You Need to Know Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Introduction The month of May was National Speech-Language-Hearing Month (NSLHM), honoring the work of speech-language pathologists across the United...
Dysphagia After Bariatric Surgery: Tackling Complications Through IDDSI Integration and SLP Care By: Dr. Kevin Huffman, D.O., Board Certified Bariatric Physician; Co-author & Editor: Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com Introduction to Bariatric...
Oral Health: 3 International Updates & Actions by Karen Sheffler, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S inspired by the Dysphagia Research Society (DRS) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA & the session on March 28, 2025 titled: "Raising the Profile of Dysphagia on the Oral...
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, BCS-S of SwallowStudy.com April is Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month...
This article highlights Why DRS conferences are so useful. The first reason is to make us question what we know and how we do things in the field of dysphagia. The specific example that the article dives deeply into is that of sensation, sensory mechanoreceptors, and a person’s sensory response to airway invasion (safety issue in swallowing with penetration and aspiration into the airway) and/or residue (efficiency issue with clearance of the bolus of food/liquid to the esophagus). We learned that it is the supraglottic space (above the level of the vocal cords) and the lower pharynx (throat) that have the most density of sensory mechanoreceptors and nerves (iSLN). Whereas, the vocal cords themselves have very little sensory receptors. Find out more by reading blog article and following links to original research by Dr. Thibeault & Dr. Foote.
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 Cichero, BA, BSpThy (Hons), PhD, and Laura Brooks, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S (on...