SWIG Forums are for everyone and FREE! We encourage anyone who has experienced dysphagia (swallowing impairments), or knows someone with this condition, or provides healthcare to patients to attend and contribute. Dr. Humbert and Candace Thomas, both Speech Language Pathologists (SLP), will provide understandable and informative discussions about swallowing disorders and encourage story-sharing, helpful ways to navigate the healthcare system, and hope. Another important goal of SWIG Forums is to increase health literacy about swallowing disorders, which improves your understanding of, and access to information and services to manage your swallowing problems. The SWIG Forum is sponsored by Swallowing Wellness, the world's first outpatient center dedicated to people with feeding and swallowing difficulty, located in Bethesda MD.
Webinar recordings will be made available for public viewing, free of charge.
Introduction to Swallowing Disorders
March 18, 2025 | 7pm EST
Introduction to Swallowing Disorders: Types, symptoms, and the Impacts on daily life.
Description: Swallowing disorders is a complicated condition that can arise from many different diseases and disorders, including neurological and, psychological, cancer, injury to the mouth or throat, surgeries, medications, and other causes. There isn’t just one type of swallowing disorder or outcome of a swallowing disorder. In one person, a stroke might lead to foods such as bread and meat getting stuck in the throat, while another person finds themself coughing when they try to drink water. In this virtual SWIG Forum, we will explain how swallowing normally works, then describe the nature of various types of swallowing disorders and what causes them. The information will include common feeding and swallowing disorders across different ages and causes of dysphagia.
Managing Complications of Swallowing Difficulty
April 15, 2025 | 7pm EST
Managing Complications of Swallowing Difficulty: Preventing and addressing risks of pneumonia, choking, dehydration, and malnutrition.
Description: When anyone stuffers from a swallowing problem, they may experience frightening, painful, inconvenient, or embarrassing complications. This might include choking, discomfort during swallowing, coughing during mealtimes, or bringing up food or saliva that just won’t go down. These symptoms can lead to long-term health concerns such as weight loss, pneumonia, breathing obstructions from choking, dehydration, malnutrition and poor quality of life. In this virtual SWIG Forum, we will describe common treatments including diet alterations and restrictions, head and neck positions, swallowing maneuvers, and more, in simple language to increase understanding about therapeutic options. This broad overview does not replace consulting with a clinician to address your specific swallowing concerns.
Dealing with Difficulty in the Healthcare System
May 20, 2025 | 7pm EST
Dealing with difficulty in the healthcare system: Getting the most out of your interactions with medical providers.
Description: We have all been frustrated by well-meaning healthcare providers who seem to overlook our concerns, leave us with more questions than answers, and herd us through the healthcare system. The Swallowing Healthcare System is particularly fractured because, not only are patients left confused about what is happening to their bodies, the healthcare system has not yet prioritized adequate and regular access to important diagnostic tools for individuals with dysphagia. Example: Most people who have been told they have a swallowing problem did not have imaging, such as x-ray or endoscopy, to confirm that a swallowing problem exists. In this virtual SWIG Forum, we will deliver straightforward, patient-centered advice on how to make the current healthcare system work for you, including knowing what medical procedures you should have access to, knowing which medical specialties to choose, and how to advocate for yourself when requiring a clear explanation about the decisions that are being made by the healthcare system about you body.