Like breathing, swallowing is essential to everyday life. Humans swallow at between 500-700 times a day, around three times an hour during sleep, once per minute while awake and even more during meals. Around one million Australians have a swallowing difficulty ('dysphagia'). Swallowing problems can occur at any stage of life. However, the knowledge [...]
Our speech pathologist, Di Lam, attended a workshop in Melbourne this year. It was presented by Justine Joan Sheppard, who specialises in Dysphagia in Disability. Here are Di's reflections after the course......... What were the main topics covered? Swallowing and Feeding Disorders in Developmental Disability and their causes Dysphagia Disorder Survey (DDS) & Dysphagia Management Staging [...]
Ever stopped to think about the importance of your oral hygiene? That is, how clean is your mouth and teeth? We need good strong teeth to bite and to chew, to shape speech sounds and of course to smile. When we have problems with our mouth and teeth it's bad news - pain, embarrassment, odour, and [...]
About swallowing and aged care Up to 60% of people in nursing homes have problems swallowing (known as "Dysphagia"). This is because swallowing problems are a symptom of illnesses that occur later in life, eg dementia. Read on to learn more about swallowing and aged care. What does Dysphagia look like? You may notice a person having trouble [...]
