Family Involvement in School-Based Dysphagia Management

This article provides a practitioner-friendly synthesis of existing literature on family involvement in the management of dysphagia for school-age. Research reviewed includes family perspectives on programs, therapists, and characteristics that comprise effective family involvement in school-based dysphagia management programs. Also included are pragmatic instructional approaches and techniques that are applicable for school personnel who work with students with dysphagia. Recommendations are based on themes that emerged during the authors' interviews with family members raising children with dysphagia. According to research findings, success of children's school-based dysphagia management programs was determined by the following factors: a sense of partnership between school and home, the frequency and quality of communication, the training that both families and school personnel received on dysphagia management, the consistent use of effective interventions, and the quality of Individualized Education Plan (IEP) processes and products. (Contains 3 tables.)