In this episode Michelle is joined the newly relocated Erin Forward, MSP CCC-SLP, to shed some light on the far too often ignored Esophageal Stage of the swallow! Did you know that the Esophgeal Stage of the swallow is the fourth stage of swallowing? Or that numerous issues or etiologies arising in this area, often present in the oral stage of swallowing as “pocketing” or “behavioral aversions”? Also, did you know that best practice for instrumental swallow exams includes scanning the esophagus during a Modified Barium Swallow Study? Stay tuned for an overdue episode on the unfortunately underrated esophagus!