Speech-language pathologists

In any professional setting, especially if we are dealing with health issues, a special training pertaining to special conditions are necessary. For any patient with health issues that needs special care or where their lives may depend on someone that it is trained on that particular matter, it is necessary that this person has the right qualifications to deal with this illness. Dysphagia is a swallowing disorder where the person has difficulty swallowing food or liquids, arising from the throat or esophagus. Saying that the patient may have trouble breathing or experiencing that food is stuck in their throat and can’t swallow. It is necessary that we receive special training.

I believe that speech-language pathologists are qualified to deal with this special issues because of the extensive and challenging programs that we have to go through in order to obtain our license. After completion of the speech program, we are qualified not only for this special matter but for a lot more regarding speech-language and hearing disorders. Even if someone does not have that experience, I believe we all have the capacity to deal with patients with dysphagia and depending on the severity of the problem we might need the help of others professionals including doctors or nurses if the case is too severe.

Do you believe that Speech-language pathologists have the appropriate qualifications to work on feeding therapy? Should there be additional certifications on top of our license? We are very accustomed to the norms of “speech therapy” where we work on language or articulation but we do not spend as much time on feeding or swallowing which does fall under our scope of practice. Is it safe to do feeding therapies at home? What makes an Speech-language pathologists properly equipped for this job?