UWSHC offers services for individuals diagnosed with swallowing disorders (dysphagia), including assessment, treatment, and collaboration with other medical professionals.
We offer assessment and intervention services for adults and children with swallowing needs resulting from congenital, acquired, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Services offered may include the following:
- Assessment: The assessment is a clinical swallowing evaluation, including an oral mechanism, cranial nerve exam, and biofeedback tools to assess functional deficits of the mouth’s structures and swallow efficiency. Instrumental assessments, such as modified barium swallow studies and manometry, are not available; however, UWSHC clinicians refer and collaborate with clinics that provide instrumental evaluation data
- Intervention: This is individualized for each client and may include swallowing exercise and rehabilitation, use of biofeedback tools, training of compensatory swallowing strategies, and education on swallowing precautions.
- Education: Client, family, and caregiver education and training in how to support the individual with dysphagia.
Some individuals with dysphagia require an evaluation with a medical team and/or instrumental swallowing assessment before behavioral treatment. UWSHC clinicians can guide clients in this decision-making process and in assisting clients in connecting with those providers.
