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November is Latin American Month:
• 48.4 million is the estimated Hispanic population of the U.S.
as of July 1, 2009. The

The Role of Speech Pathologists in Regards to Determining Feeding Tube Placement

melissa n., SLP

 As a Speech Pathologist working in thelong term care setting, dysphagia and the effects that it has on a patient and his or her overall health status are a daily battle. In 1999, 46.9% of Speech-Language Pathologists reported that they regularly serve individuals with dysphagia on their caseload. The percentage exceeded 91% for professionals working in hospitals and residential health care settings (ASHA, 2000). The recommendation for “NPO with alternate means of nutrition” is not one that is easily determined, and the decision making that follows for the patient and his or her family is difficult, to say the least. It is essential that Speech Pathologists are well-versed on the advantages and disadvantages related to the placement of feeding tubes and the effects that non-oral nutrition may have on the patient and his or her family psychosocially. The risk of aspiration with oral intake, the quantity of oral intake a patient is exhibiting, and the quality of life for the patient in regards to eating and drinking are factors to consider when determining whether or not a feeding tube placement is appropriate for an individual.

Melissa N., SLP

Collecting an oral history is an individualized, fun, functional method to begin therapy with an adult in any setting. Using a set of “interview” questions, a Speech Pathologist is able to modify the task to fit each patient’s goals. An oral interview addresses functional receptive and expressive language, long term memory, thought organization, and problem solving skills. The patient can be asked to compare/contrast life now to life at a certain age (problem solving), give instructions on how to cook or bake their favorite dish (sequencing), or recall daily events as a young parent (memory). Completing an oral history with a patient and writing responses on paper is an easy, insightful way to establish rapport, facilitate language, and stimulate memory skills. Once completed, the written responses can be given to the patient to be handed on to family members or friends for genealogical purposes. The format that I use is as follows, however, an SLP may add, modify, or reduce the interview as indicated:

Group Therapy: Maximizing the Potential – melissa n., SLP

Medicare A restrictions regarding group therapy guidelines became effective