Our Dysphagia Awareness Campaign

Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulties with swallowing and usually results from a neural or physical impairment of the swallowing mechanisms (the mouth or throat). Dysphagia affects a range of people, including those with dementia, learning disabilities, brain injury, people with cancer of the mouth and throat and people who have had a stroke.


The incidence of patients with initial dysphagia following an acute stroke are between 40% and 78% (Martino 2005 as cited by the RCSLT 2009) and 68% of those with dementia in homes for the aged have dysphagia (Steele 1997 as cited by the RCSLT 2009). 
However, there is a major lack of awareness about and understanding of dysphagia. 

This is something I am keen to change.  Therefore, along side two of my peers (Rosa Holden and Olivia Hallam) I am running a campaign to help raise awareness...

During week commencing 26th of October, the three of us will be embarking upon a 5 day modified diet where we will be eating only soft food of different consistencies (focusing on purée), and drinking only thickened fluids. This is because a modified diet is one of the strategies that as future SLTs we might recommend to certain clients, as a method of managing their swallowing difficulties. We hope that by putting ourselves in the shoes of our clients (even for this short period of time) we will become more empathetic clinicians with a better understanding of the life altering changes we are asking people to make.
We are being sponsored to do this, and in compliance with the "Giving Voice to people with Dementia Campaign", all of the money we raise will be going to DementiaUK.  Here is the link if you feel you would like to donate https://www.justgiving.com/j-white1/

As part of the campaign, we will be uploading videos and blogs of our experiences; these will include us preparing and talking about meals of different consistencies.  It is our hope that clients and carers will be able to use these videos for instruction on how to make the food and drink and be able to learn some tips on making the food more palatable.

We will also be running a workshop as part of a conference within the university for other healthcare students, during which we will explain the basics of swallowing, and what can go wrong. They will have the chance to prepare and try some thickened drinks, and there will be opportunities to experiment with some of the different postural compensations for swallowing.


For more information about DementiaUK (Registered Charity no: 1039404)  please visit: http://www.dementiauk.org/