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Eat, Speak, & Think

EST Updates: Dry mouth, swallowing, and jigsaw puzzles!

Published about 17 hours agoΒ β€’Β 3 min read

Hi Reader,
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Now that I'm getting ready to sell a book, I'm slogging through all the steps to set up a proper business. None of it is rocket science, but it's a lot of steps and a lot of forms to fill out.

In the past, this kind of thing would have paralyzed me..

What do I do first? What information will I need? Which file, folder, or box did I stuff that information in?

And decisions, decisions, decisions!

Thank goodness I have a year under my belt of working with an executive function coach, or I would be huddled under a blanket on my sofa binge-watching the first show that grabbed my attention!

All that to say, I do not have a new blog post to share with this week's newsletter, although I do have ideas!

  1. Pulling together cognitive exercises and resources that could be used for patient's home exercise programs or for cognitive stimulation activities.
  2. Tutorial on assessing or treating anosognosia, which is decreased awareness of one's own impairments or changes in function after a brain injury.
  3. How I went from completing minimal documentation in the patient's home to routinely finishing routine notes during the visit - without compromising care. (As far as I can tell!)

Hit reply and let me know which one you'd like to read next.

Read on to find resources for dry mouth, a free webinar with Dr. Ianessa Humbert, a new way to complete the EAT-10, and free online (beautiful) jigsaw puzzles.

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β€‹πŸ§ What I'm working on

The handouts for the first print volume are ready. I'm putting together the front-matter, and then I'll make a basic cover. (I'm planning on hiring a designer when Volume 2 is ready, so they can design both covers.)

I've uploaded the draft file to Lulu, which is the platform I'm using, and the automatic scan found a few errors. At first glance, the errors seem easy to fix, so that will be next.

πŸŽ“Continuing education & colleague support

High-quality continuing education courses are a fast way to learn about new strategies and resources. Here are some of my favorite resources.

Medbridge discount for SLP, OT, PT, nurses, & athletic trainers

​Save $106 on a single subscription* or pay just $75 for a student subscription*. Looking for a group rate*?
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​*These are affiliate links. As an affiliate of MedBridge Education, I may earn a commission on qualifying new subscriptions. There is no extra charge to you, and it will help make Eat, Speak, & Think sustainable.

Get a free month with the Medical SLP Collective

The Medical SLP Collective is a subscription-based membership group. I've found the community to be very helpful for high-quality CEUs, materials, and quick answers for clinical questions from experts.

Just mention my name (Lisa Young) when you sign up, and we both get an extra month free!

SpeechPathology.com has a wide variety of courses!

Sign up for a new subscription (affiliate link) to gain access to a wide variety of continuing education topics in multiple formats!

Please use my affiliate code EATSPEAKTHINK to support my work, with no extra charge to you.

I've earned many continuing education credits by listening to informative courses as I drove from one patient's home to another.

This was a life-saver when I switched to home health and started seeing patient populations I'd never encountered before!

🎁 Featured EST post & handout

You can access all free Eat, Speak, & Think PDF downloads in the password-protected Free Subscription Library.

  • ​Treat EST to a coffee and you'll get the Mini Resource Binder (99 pages).
  • Become a member at the "Supporter" level, and you'll receive the full Resource Binder (360 pages), plus updated editions. ($2/month or $20/year)

​What you need to know about chronic dry mouth. Dry mouth is such a common problem among my patients that I teamed up with Dr. C. Michael White to share information that would be useful for SLPs. You can learn about the many benefits of saliva, what goes wrong with chronic dry mouth, and tips for patients.

​The patient handout is a detailed, easy-to-scan guide. Feel free to share with your colleagues or patients!

🌐 Something worth sharing​
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  • Dr. Ianessa Humbert is holding a free webinar on November 11 (8 pm Eastern) through the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders. (No CEUs). She will be discussing her new book "Keep Eating: Risk, Pleasure, and the Fight to Stay at the Table." This discussion ought to be of interest to patients and families, as well as clinicians. Dr. Humbert is an engaging speaker!
  • I just learned of this cool website, Jigsaway.com, where you can do beautiful jigsaw puzzles, choosing your level of difficulty. I've seen puzzles that go as low as 4 pieces, and they all seem to go as high as 1000 pieces. There's a collection specifically for seniors, as well. You can play as a guest or create a free account.

Thanks for reading!
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Consider supporting EST by telling a friend or directly through Buy Me a Coffee.

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Stay safe and be well,

Lisa
(she/her/hers)

Eat, Speak, & Think

Medical speech therapist sharing tips and resources

I've been a medical speech-language pathologist since 2008, and I'm passionate about sharing useful tips and resources to help people living with swallowing, communication, or cognitive challenges.

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