Swallowing Training Education Portal

About: The Swallowing Training and Education Portal (STEP) Swallowing Assessment learning module offers 1.3 ASHA CEUs to all those enrolled in the STEP CEU Membership Plan. It provides information about the clinical evaluation of swallowing; both, at bedside and using instrumental exams. It will discuss ways to implement a set of validated clinical tools to probe different aspects of the swallowing mechanism including: airway defense physiologic capacity, lingual physiologic capacity, swallow safety and aspiration screening, patient self-report and quality of life. The course will also provide resources related to best practices in videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS), modified barium swallow studies (MBSS), videos of fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and MBSS evaluations, MBSS interpretation training, and swallowing assessments in specialized populations such as head and neck cancer and stroke.  

Target Audience: Speech-language pathology students and clinicians 

Learning Objectives: As a result of this course, participants will be able to: 

• List and compare swallowing assessments based on their capacity to assess physiology, function, and or bolus flow characteristics
• Identify when a swallowing physiological event is normal, functional, or disordered
• Discuss the types of measures and judgements that can be made about swallowing physiology with Modified Barium Swallowing Studies

Completion Requirements: The entirety of this course must be completed in order to earn 1.3 ASHA CEUs. Partial credit is NOT available for this course. Please Note: ASHA CEUs are only offered to all those who are enrolled in our CEU Membership Plan. ASHA CEU credit is not being offered for this course for those enrolled in our monthly Starter and Plus plans. 

About the Instructors: 

Ianessa Humbert, Ph.D.CCC-SLP is an accomplished scientist, professor, and highly sought-after speaker with expertise in swallowing and swallowing disorders. Dr. Humbert’s innovative training style has been funded by ASHFoundation and extends to non-traditional learning formats. She is the co-creator of the popular Down the Hatch podcast, has co-founded online learning tools including STEP (Swallowing Training and Education Portal) and has developed high-quality, no-cost learning tools available on her YouTube Channel and website www.ianessahumbert.com. Dr. Humbert has demonstrated her gift for creating images that depict the dynamism of swallowing via her Swallowing Pocket Guide and Swallowing Neuro Anatomy and Physiology Shorts or SNAPS (on STEP). Dr. Humbert has been on faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the University of Florida, and the University of Iowa. The content from Dr. Humbert’s courses are supported by scientific evidence from her laboratory and from the larger body of research literature.

Financial disclosures: Ianessa Humbert is a co-owner of Swallowology LLC and Elemint LLC. Non-Financial disclosures: Ianessa Humbert is the co-creator of Down the Hatch and STEP. 

Rinki Varindani Desai M.S.,CCC-SLP  is an ASHA-certified medical speech-language pathologist, certified brain injury specialist and certified dementia practitioner; specializing in the assessment and treatment of cognitive-linguistic and swallowing disorders in adults. Rinki is the co-founder of the Swallowing Training and Education Portal, founder of the Medical SLP Forum and co-creator of the Dysphagia Therapy mobile app. She currently serves as Associate Coordinator of ASHA’s Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders Special Interest Group (SIG 13) and as Co-Chair of the Dysphagia Research Society's COVID-19 Task Force. She is also a part of ASHA’s Scientific Professional Education Board and on the Board of Directors for Burgundy and White, a non-profit for the head neck cancer community. Originally an SLP from Mumbai, India; Rinki has practiced for nearly a decade in acute, sub-acute and long-term care medical settings. She is currently the adult outpatient lead of the Voice and Swallowing Center and a clinical instructor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Financial disclosures: Rinki Varindani Desai receives a royalty for her contributions to the STEP website. Non-Financial disclosures: Rinki volunteers with the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA SIG 13) and Dysphagia Research Society. Rinki is the founder of the Medical SLP Forum and the co-creator of the Dysphagia Therapy mobile app.

 This course is offered for 1.3 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate level, Professional area)