Dysphagia is a swallowing disorder where a person has difficulty swallowing food/liquid/saliva. It can occur anywhere along the swallowing tract, including the mouth, throat and esophagus. Individuals can also experience pain with swallowing which is termed odynophagia.

SLPs asses and manage the symptoms of dysphagia and odynophagia. Some of these symptoms include:

• coughing or choking when eating or drinking.

• bringing food back up, sometimes through the nose.

• a sensation that food is stuck in your throat or chest.

• persistent drooling of saliva.

• being unable to chew food properly.

• a gurgly, wet-sounding voice when eating or drinking.

• pain

• difficulty swallowing particular foods.

• frequent aspiration pneumonias.