Dysphagia management and OT’s role: A unique perspective 

Imagine having one of your most basic needs taken away from you—the ability to eat. Now, imagine having to rearrange the way you live your life—your routines, your roles, and your personal relationships—all because of a disruption of this basic need. Each year, 1 in 25 adults have dysphagia, or difficulty with swallowing (Bhattacharyya, 2014). Swallowing is a process so automatic for most of us that we take it for granted until we can no longer do it with ease. We go to the refrigerator, gather our snacks, and eat while we multitask throughout our day. For individuals with dysphagia, these simple tasks are luxuries they don’t get to experience.