Join host Sarah Baar, MA, CCC-SLP, and guest Dr. James Curtis, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, an expert in voice, cough, and swallowing disorders and director of the Aerodigestive Innovations Research Lab, for a deep dive into the critical role of cough in airway protection. Together, they explore how shifting our perspective from “swallowing” to a broader “airway protective” framework can significantly impact patient outcomes and pneumonia risk. You will learn how to implement clinically feasible, objective cough assessments—using simple tools like peak flow meters—to better categorize impairments and move beyond the “one-size-fits-all” approach of strength training. This conversation offers actionable strategies to help you differentiate between weakness and skill-based deficits, allowing you to tailor your rehabilitation plans for maximum clinical impact.

• Analyze the evidence around the role of cough as a core component of airway protection and its physiological relationship with swallowing disorders
• Apply evidence-based, practical strategies to actionably assess cough effectiveness using instrumental measures such as cough peak flow and auditory-perceptual frameworks
• Solve patient case scenarios by selecting appropriate cough rehabilitation interventions, such as expiratory muscle Strength Training (EMST) or cough skill training (CST), based on the patient’s underlying pathogenesis

Timestamps

• (00:00:00) Welcome
• (00:00:05) Introductions
• (00:02:33) Cough in dysphagia management
• (00:05:15) When to assess cough and why
• (00:09:29) Approaches to cough assessment
• (00:13:58) Pathogenesis and its role in cough function
• (00:14:57) Cough assessment in clinical practice
• (00:21:57) Pathogenesis and its role in cough function
• (00:25:57) Understanding cough rehabilitation
• (00:30:12) Incorporating cough in dysphagia assessment
• (00:34:00) Setting goals for cough treatment
• (00:39:54) Differentiating treatment approaches
• (00:44:08) Final takeaways
• (00:44:44) Actionable takeaways for clinicians
• (00:46:39) Future directions in cough assessment

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