Get Your Free Semi-Structured Interview for Dysphagia
This free resource accompanies Episode 1 where Dr Simone Howells talks about the importance of conducting a good client and carer interview, in community based settings.
This resource is a 3 page hand-out to prompt you to ask about the impact of dysphagia beyond the physiological impairment. This will help you to get to know your client and set collaborative goals that are meaningful.
Yep, I'll grab that
Dysphagia Research Bites Podcast
This is your go-to podcast for all things dysphagia for the SLP working outside the hospital setting.
Because dysphagia care in the community requires a different approach
In this podcast I sit down with researchers and clinicians who are doing interesting work, so you can stay informed, feel confident, and consume clinically digestible dysphagia education.
Each episode is based around one particular research article or publication, and from there I chat with guests about what the research means for clinical practice.
You'll hear about dysphagia research either directly from the source (i.e. researchers), or from the clinicians putting it into practice. And often I'll get a unicorn clinician-researcher on the pod!
Each episode brings you honest, engaging conversations so you can stay informed, feel confident, and know you're not figuring this out alone.
I've tried to keep episodes to 30 minutes or less so they're easy to consume, because that's how I like my podcasts.
But forgive me if the odd conversation here or there goes a little over. It's only because it had info that was too good to cut out!
Join me on your favourite pod platform so we can get straight into the clinical content with the guests.
Enjoy.
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Meet Your Host
Hi, I'm Chantelle
I'm a speech pathologist, dysphagia educator, and founder of Dysphagia Bites. For over 15 years, I've worked across home health, aged care, disability, and inpatient settings, and I've seen firsthand how overlooked community-based dysphagia practice can be.
I've always loved educating myself through podcasts but I noticed a big gap in the dysphagia podcast market. Most of the existing ones were either heavily focused on dysphagia in an acute care setting or they were heavily theoretical. So a lot of the information either didn't apply to me in a community role or I couldn't apply it to practice.
So I decided to fill that gap with this podcast!
Here's a peek at the first six Dysphagia Research Bites Podcast Episodes
Ep 1: Dysphagia in the Community: Adapted Skills, Holistic Care and the Research Gap with Dr Simone Howells
Community dysphagia practice is not simply acute care in a different setting, and Dr Simone Howells' research makes that case clearly. This episode draws on her 2019 study exploring how speech-language pathologists approach dysphagia in community contexts.
The conversation covers three themes from Simone's research: holistic practice, client autonomy, and carer engagement, and addresses the practical realities of working without an MDT, navigating grief and psychosocial factors, and incorporating cultural considerations into assessment and management.
Ep 2: Dysphagia and Dementia Part 1: What we Need to Learn & Unlearn with Jackie Rodriguez
When dysphagia and dementia present together, the clinical picture is more complex than either diagnosis alone. In part one of this two-part conversation, I speak with Jackie Rodriguez about the dual diagnosis challenge, what it looks like clinically, why it's underrecognised, and why standard assessment approaches often fall short.
The episode is grounded in Michelle Tristani's 2016 paper on dysphagia in persons with dementia, and covers functional assessment approaches and the importance of language and terminology with this population.
Ep 3: Dysphagia and Dementia Part 2: What we Need to Learn & Unlearn with Jackie Rodriguez
Part two continues the conversation with Jackie, moving from assessment into management. Topics include how dementia affects the visual field and what this means at mealtimes, sensory strategies to reduce overwhelm, and a practical discussion of oral apraxia and the techniques Jackie uses in her own practice.
The episode addresses what the evidence actually says about enteral feeding and aspiration pneumonia prevention, makes the case for proactive and early intervention in this population, and closes with Jackie's position on EOL care.
Ep 4: Intensive Dysphagia Rehabilitation: When Less is More with Tiffani Wallace
This episode focuses on the Intensive Dysphagia Rehabilitation Approach (IDRA)™, examined through a 2016 case series study by Malandraki and colleagues. Tiffani Wallace, a dysphagia specialist and founder of Dysphagia Ramblings, breaks down what the approach involves and how the principles of neuroplasticity underpin its design.
The conversation covers the three core components of the program: oropharyngeal exercises, high-intensity targeted swallowing practice, and adherence-inducing features and addresses why a focused, targeted approach to rehab outperforms a broad list of unvalidated techniques.
Ep 5: Cervical Auscultation: Don't Throw Out Your Stethoscope Just Yet with Dr Liza Bergström
Cervical auscultation has had a complicated reputation in the profession. In this episode, Associate Professor Liza Bergström makes the case that much of that controversy stems from a misunderstanding of what CA is actually designed to do, and that recent high-quality research supports its place in the clinical swallow evaluation.
The conversation covers stethoscope placement, the five components of the Respiratory Swallow Assessment Protocol, what the evidence says about validity and reliability when compared to FEES, the role of training in improving accuracy, and the honest limitations of CA, including what it cannot reliably detect.
Ep 6: Risk Feeding, Informed Consent & Prandial Aspiration discussions with Dr Shaun O'Keeffe
This episode examines a question that sits uncomfortably in the profession: is clinical practice around aspiration risk driven by evidence, or by fear? Dr Shaun O'Keeffe joins the podcast to discuss his critique of the Royal College of Physicians' guidance on eating and drinking difficulties, and the broader issues it raises for dysphagia practice.
We cover the distinction between aspiration and aspiration pneumonia and the evidence, or lack of, for texture modification and as a pneumonia prevention strategy. Shaun makes a case for reframing dysphagia management through informed consent and patient autonomy, rather than risk avoidance.