Swallow Assessment Across the Lifespan: From
Bedside to Instrumental - Part 1

Description

Dysphagia assessment follows a recognizable arc—from the bedside clinical examination to instrumental confirmation—yet how clinicians structure observations, select tools, and decide when to advance to instrumentation remains strikingly variable across settings and patient populations. That variability undermines diagnostic precision and the comparability of care.

This two-part series gives speech-language pathologists a systematic, evidence-based framework for navigating the swallow assessment continuum across the full age span. Each session moves from clinical evaluation through instrumental decision-making, with emphasis on selecting between videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and integrating findings into defensible, patient-centered care plans. Part 1 addresses the pediatric population, from medically fragile neonates in the NICU through school-age children; Part 2 addresses the adult continuum, from screening through instrumental assessment. Taken together, the sessions equip clinicians with repeatable, physiologically grounded decision-making they can apply immediately—whether they work with infants, adults, or a mixed caseload.

Sessions:

Part 1 — Pediatric Swallow Assessment: From Bedside to Instrumental

Presented by Memorie Gosa, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, and Pamela Dodrill, PhD, CCC-SLP

Part 2 — Adult Swallow Assessment: From Bedside to Instrumental

Presented by Kendrea L. (Focht) Garand, PhD, CScD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, and Jo Puntil, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, F-ASHA

Register for Part 2 here:

Instructors

Learning Objectives

• Describe the anatomical and physiological features of the pediatric swallow across developmental stages, including differences between neonatal suckling and more mature eating and drinking patterns.
• Identify medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and psychosocial risk factors for pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) across clinical populations, including premature infants, children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital heart disease, and neurological impairment.
• Describe the components of, and documentation approach for, a structured clinical swallow evaluation (CSE) for infants and children, incorporating standardized clinical assessment tools appropriate to the child's age and medical context.
• Compare the clinical utility, psychometric properties, and population-specific evidence for available clinical assessment tools and parent-report outcome measures (PROMs) for pediatric feeding disorder.
• Distinguish between the indications, advantages, and limitations of VFSS and FEES for instrumental swallowing assessment in the pediatric population.
• Apply the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework to formulate an integrated, patient-centered assessment plan for a child with suspected dysphagia.

Agenda

All times in Eastern Time.

11:00am–11:05am

Welcome!

11:05am–11:35am

Chapter 1: Pediatric Swallowing Physiology and Populations at Risk

11:35am–12:05pm

Chapter 2: The Clinical Swallow Evaluation—Infants Through School Age

12:05pm–12:35pm

Chapter 3: Instrumental Assessment—When, Which Modality, and Clinical Decision-Making

12:35pm–12:40pm

Break

12:40pm–1:05pm

Question and Answer Session

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