In this week’s episode SPA’s Jessica Kaplonyi speaks with Tracy Lazenby-Paterson from the National Health Service and Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists in the UK, and Dr Arlene McCurtin from the University of Limerick in Ireland, about research into thickened fluids and people living with dysphagia. They discuss misconceptions about thickened liquids as an intervention, unintended consequences, re-examining client outcomes, and alternative approaches to achieve them.

Resources:

McCurtin, A., Collins, L., King, L., Lazenby-Paterson, T., Lisiecka, D., Leslie, P., McInerney, M., Moran, A., O’Keefe, S., Smith, A. (2024). Beyond thickened liquids: for your consideration. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology. 26: 2. 128-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/22000259.2024.2359368

Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Position paper on the use of thickened fluids in the management of people with swallowing difficulties. RCSLT Position Paper 2024. London: RCSLT, 2024. Available at: http://www.rcslt.org/members/clinical-guidance/dysphagia/thickened-fluids

SPA Resources:

SPA Position statement (public):

The role of speech pathology in informed choice and shared decision-making in dysphagia. (Public) https://speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/resource?resource=107

SPA Practice guidelines (members only):

Dysphagia https://speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/resource?resource=125

Informed choice and shared decision making with people who eat and drink with acknowledged risk: https://speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/resource?resource=521

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