Cognitive Impairments & Swallowing

Danielle Claps CCC/SCP
Speech and Language Pathologist

Swallowing disorders after brain injury are not uncommon. Speech-language pathologists often diagnose patients with swallowing disorders which is also known as dysphagia.

In brain injured individuals, dysphagia may be a result of physiological impairment of the swallowing mechanism or cognitive deficits. In an article by Halper et al. (1999), the effect of cognitive-communicative functioning on swallowing and length of stay is discussed. Based on results obtained in this study, there is good prognosis for swallowing especially when cognitive-communicative functioning improves. This is illustrated in two case studies discussed in the article. In the first case study, the patient improves from severe cognitive deficits and non-oral feeding to mild cognitive deficits and a regular diet. In the second case study, the patient's cognitive-communicative skills remained moderately to severely impaired, and swallowing minimally improved from non-oral feeding to a modified diet (thick liquids and puree).

For further information on the impact of cognitive function on swallowing please refer to the above mentioned article.

Halper, A.S.; Cherney, L.R.; Cichowski, K.; Zhang, M. Dysphagia "After Head Trauma: The Effect of Cognitive-Communicative Impairments on Functional Outcomes."  J Head Trauma Rehabilitation. 1999;14 (5): 486-496.