This is a cutting-edge, 2-day course designed for the intermediate dysphagia therapist.  The SLP will become knowledgeable on various esophageal disorders affecting the oropharyngeal stage of swallowing. Diagnostic ability and treatment planning will be dramatically improved by learning to decipher primary oropharyngeal vs esophageal dysphagia.  Learn to identify laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) and GERD and become knowledgeable regarding diagnostic evaluations and medical/ surgical management.  You will receive extensive clinical training for advanced interpretation of FEES and MBS to include implementation of the Reflux Finding Score (RFS) and esophageal sweep.  Determine appropriate candidates for various tube feeding options given their affect on different stages of swallowing. Evaluation and treatment options for the xerostomic patient will be discussed.

Julie Huffman is a speech-language pathologist at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh.  She has 15 years experience in dysphagia evaluation and treatment in a variety of settings with current focuses in acute care and outpatient rehabilitation.  She has had a special interest in esophageal disorders as they affect oropharyngeal swallowing for the last 6 years.  She has been instrumental in devising new protocols to include consideration of the esophagus for both FEES and MBS studies throughout the continuum of care in her hospital system.  She has been teaching on the subject for the past two years.  Julie is pursuing research opportunities related to esophageal disorders and dysphagia.  Julie is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo.