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ASSESSMENT AND THERAPY

Swallowing Therapy

According to the age, abilities, habits and needs of clients, speech therapists use different assessment tools and methods to assess individual’s eating methods, postures, oral motor abilities, swallowing abilities and so on.  Individualized treatment plans will be developed according to the assessment results.  During therapy, continuous assessment will be performed, and therapy goals will be modified accordingly.

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Assessment and training

  • Dysphagia / Swallowing difficulties can be caused by strokes, cognitive disorders (e.g. Dementia, Parkinson’s Diseases), aging and nasopharyngeal cancer etc.
  • Symptoms of swallowing disorders include frequent chokes, weight loss, dehydration, depressions, and aspiration pneumonia, etc
  • Our speech therapists conduct detailed assessments with patients.  Assessments may include:
    • Bedside assessment
    • Videofluroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS)
    • Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing(FEES)

Depending on the needs and abilities of an individual, our speech therapists use different approaches or methods to improve his/her swallowing ability, e.g.

  • Diet Modification – based on IDDSI (The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative), we suggest appropriate liquid viscosity and food textures
  • Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) – we use electrical stimulation to stimulate and strengthen swallowing reflexes, and relevant muscles involved in swallowing
  • Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation (DPNS) – we stimulate different areas in oral cavity and pharynx to improve swallowing reflexes
  • Manual Therapy – we use specific massage method to relax neck and shoulder muscles
  • Caretaker Training – we train the caretakers of patients with swallowing disorders so that they can prepare appropriate meals, help patients to eat with suitable postures, and help patients to perform swallowing exercises
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