ADRIA THOMPSON: The `VITAL Role Speech Therapy Plays in The Quality of Your Loved One's Life

In Episode 61, Don and I had the pleasure of speaking with Adria Thompson, a speech language pathologist, dementia educator, and owner of Be Light Care Consulting. Adria has over 8 years experience in working with individuals one on one providing speech therapy services for those with dementia.

Adria has also created a dementia training program to teach therapists in 13 states how to increase their creativity, efficiency, and compassion. She creates daily content for over 200,000 professional and personal caregivers of individuals with dementia on social media platforms in a relatable, positive way that makes the condition seem a little less scary.

I was particularly interested in talking to Adria about dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing) which often presents in late-stage dementia patients. Although dysphagia can only truly be diagnosed via Videofluoroscopy (VFS), also called a modified barium swallow study (the gold standard),  many Long Term Care Facilities use antiquated ways to make their official assessment based on budget and man-power.

This is what happened to my mother in the last 6 months of her life. Without having her properly tested, the facility that she was at claimed she could no longer swallow safely and insisted she be fed via a G-Tube. They also refused to allow her to have anything orally for fear she would aspirate. But the truth was, my mother was not only able to swallow, she wanted to desperately.  Despite my advocating, they forbid it. I was finally able to convince them to have her assessed by their speech therapist who proceeded to diagnose her with dysphagia by watching her and placing a finger on her throat.

I implored the therapist to watch me give my mother liquids from one of the sponges used for oral care. She agreed that my mother was able to swallow...for me. Her final decision was that I would be allowed to give liquids to my mother via a sponge on a stick. No one else would be given permission. Let's be honest - the decision was based on the fact that they were understaffed.  And potential liability.  Consequently, my mother suffered for 6 months from an unnecessary G-Tube,  solid chunks of mucus that formed daily which happens when li

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