ASHA Learning Pass

SLPs are increasingly responsible for identifying and treating students with swallowing and feeding concerns, leading to questions like: What are the tasks that must be addressed? What service delivery model should be used? Given challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, is telepractice an option? How can it fit into my workload schedule? This session from ASHA’s 2021 Schools Connect online conference reviews the essential steps for addressing swallowing and feeding, the barriers and solutions to obstacles, and the role of telepractice in achieving the goal of safe and efficient mealtimes for students.

Related Courses

This course is part of Key Courses on Feeding and Swallowing in Schools.

Learning Outcomes
You will be able to:

• Outline a plan for service delivery of swallowing and feeding services that can be incorporated into your current workload schedule 
• Identify the steps necessary when addressing swallowing and feeding services and solutions to the main barrier(s) you are experiencing when providing those services 
• Add telepractice services to the delivery models that may be available for providing all or part of swallowing and feeding services in your school district

Contents

• Tasks required to provide services to students with swallowing and feeding disorders
• Challenges and potential solutions
  • Fear of liability or due process
  • Lack of knowledge, skills, training, and/or experience with swallowing and feeding
  • Lack of administrative support
  • Lack of time
• Telepractice services for swallowing and feeding

Presenter Information

Emily M. Homer, MA, CCC-SLP, is an ASHA Fellow; School-Based Swallowing and Feeding Consultant at Students Eat Safely, LLC; and Coordinator of Speech/Language/Hearing Therapy Program at St. Tammany Parish Schools in Louisiana (retired). The majority of her 43 years in the field of speech-language pathology have been in the public school setting. She has presented nationally, at ASHA Conventions, ASHA Schools Conferences, and ASHA teleconferences. She is the author of Management of Swallowing and Feeding Disorders in Schools (Plural Publishing, 2016). In addition, Ms. Homer has published articles on swallowing and feeding in the schools in Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, Seminars in Speech and Language, Communication Disorders Casebook: Learning by Example (Chabon and Cohn, Eds.), Speech-Language Pathology Casebook (Branski and Molfenter, Eds.), ASHA SIG 13 and 16 newsletters, ASHA Leader, and Advance magazine. Ms. Homer served as the chairperson of ASHA’s working committee on dysphagia in the schools. She was honored as an ASHA Fellow at the 2018 ASHA Convention and was the 1999 recipient of the Louis M. DiCarlo Award for establishing a school-based swallowing and feeding procedure in her district. Ms. Homer works closely with school districts to assist them in adopting a procedure utilizing a team approach to establish and maintain safe swallowing and feeding at school for students with swallowing and feeding disorders. She shares her district's time-tested procedures and forms with SLPs and their districts throughout the country.

Financial Disclosures:

• Royalties from Plural Publishing and MedBridge Education
• Speaker fees for presentations to school districts, state organizations, etc.
• Financial compensation from ASHA for this presentation

Nonfinancial Disclosures:

• Consults with school district therapists and administrators at no charge

Assessment Type

Self-assessment—Think about what you learned and report on the Completion Form how you will use your new knowledge.

To earn continuing education credit, you must complete the learning assessment by the end date below.

Program History and CE Information

Online conference dates: July 14-26, 2021
End date: April 4, 2028

This course is offered for 0.15 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate level, Professional area).