George Barnes MS CCC SLP

George Barnes MS CCC SLP Med SLP specialist in MBSS, trach/vent, and aspiration pneumonia management. Mobile FEES provider. Making Swallowing Simpler

📍Greater NYC 🍎

Which of these did you already know??What else would you like to learn about? Reference:Leder, S. B. (2015). Comparing S...
05/28/2026

Which of these did you already know??

What else would you like to learn about?

Reference:

Leder, S. B. (2015). Comparing Simultaneous clinical swallow evaluations and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluations of swallowing: Findings and consequences. Perspectives on Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia), 24(1), 12–17. https://doi.org/10.1044/sasd24.1.12

Does your facility use a standard water swallow screen? A study by Hey et al. found that while these screens detected 10...
05/12/2026

Does your facility use a standard water swallow screen?

A study by Hey et al. found that while these screens detected 100% of people who were aspirating, they had an abysmal specificity of 61%.

That means the screener failed 16 people who should have passed.

Imagine being NPO, losing weight, and becoming dehydrated all because of a false alarm.

As medical SLPs, identifying who does NOT have dysphagia is just as vital as identifying who does.

Comment “SLP” for this week’s article and bring a comprehensive clinical assessment to every single bedside.

BIG thanks to Dr. Coyle for his feedback and guidance on this article!

Reference:
Hey C, Lange BP, Eberle S, Zaretsky Y, Sader R, Stöver T, Wagenblast J. Water swallow screening test for patients after surgery for head and neck cancer: early identification of dysphagia, aspiration and limitations of oral intake. Anticancer Res. 2013 Sep;33(9):4017-21. PMID: 24023344.

15 million...For most of us, swallowing is automatic...But for people with dysphagia, eating and drinking can be terrify...
05/07/2026

15 million...

For most of us, swallowing is automatic...

But for people with dysphagia, eating and drinking can be terrifying.

And there are A LOT of people with dysphagia.

Think about it this way...

If you spent just one second meeting every adult in the U.S. who struggles with dysphagia, you would be shaking hands nonstop, 24 hours a day, for six months straight.

One of the worst parts is that it isn’t easy to see like other impairments.

Making those who suffer from it feel lonely and misunderstood.

Patients shouldn’t have to hide their difficulties or eat in isolation just because the world doesn’t understand.

Learn from the real stories of real people who are impacted by dysphagia by commenting “SLP” below.

Thank you to the NFOSD for providing this data.

What surprised YOU today? 👇
05/06/2026

What surprised YOU today? 👇

Imagine being a professional chef with decades of experience, only to completely lose your ability to swallow food or ev...
05/05/2026

Imagine being a professional chef with decades of experience, only to completely lose your ability to swallow food or even your own saliva.

For Rob, it was like a pilot completely losing his eyesight.

When dysphagia strikes, it doesn’t just affect your diet—it disrupts your career, your sleep, and your relationships.

It is relentless and leaves patients terrified and isolated.

But dysphagia doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Through innovative treatments like pharyngeal electrical stimulation and targeted therapy, patients like Rob are regaining their muscle memory and enjoying the food they love again.

Learn their stories in this week’s article by commenting “SLP” below.

Imagine a 62-year-old woman suffering from a constant lump in her throat for months. She undergoes a modified barium swa...
04/30/2026

Imagine a 62-year-old woman suffering from a constant lump in her throat for months.

She undergoes a modified barium swallow and FEES—everything looks completely normal.

She is prescribed multiple medications, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), but gets absolutely no relief.

As SLPs, we know how frustrating it is to see a patient suffer from a lack of answers.

We have been told the esophagus is off-limits for us, right?

But when we stop at the pharynx, patients with esophageal dysphagia are often left with nowhere else to turn.

WE can be their saving grace.

By teaching this 62-year-old woman to harness coordinated breathing, Dr. Gross, PhD, CCC-SLP, completely resolved her globus sensation in just a few weeks.

For the first time in months, she could eat without feeling a lump in her throat.

Want to learn more?

Comment “SLP” below and read the full article.

What should I add to the next one? 👇
04/29/2026

What should I add to the next one? 👇

What if the primary cause of your patient’s pharyngeal dysphagia... isn’t in their pharynx?For decades, the medical fiel...
04/28/2026

What if the primary cause of your patient’s pharyngeal dysphagia... isn’t in their pharynx?

For decades, the medical field has artificially divided swallowing into the oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal phases.

But when we stop our assessment at the cricopharyngeus, we risk treating a symptom while completely missing the root cause.

Imagine pouring your heart into a pharyngeal dysphagia treatment plan...

Only to realize that the REAL problem was a downstream esophageal issue.

Here’s what to do next. 3 steps:

1. Comment “SLP” below.
2. Receive and read my article, “Beyond the Pharynx” for free.
3. Learn about the DIEZ technique and see if it might be relevant for YOUR patients.

Thank you to Dr. Roxann Diez Gross, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA Fellow, for her feedback on this article and for creating the DIEZ Technique to help our patients!

It is incredibly frustrating to pour your expertise into a patient assessment, only to have your diet recommendations qu...
04/23/2026

It is incredibly frustrating to pour your expertise into a patient assessment, only to have your diet recommendations questioned and ignored.

But could the onus be on us?

You shouldn’t have to fight tooth and nail for professional respect.

The secret to commanding authority and ensuring patient safety isn’t just knowing more—it’s standardizing your approach.

When we use objective, standardized data, we wield research as a sword.

We cut through the noise, clearly justify our recommendations, and ensure the interdisciplinary team listens.

Want to learn how to do it?

Comment “SLP” for this week’s article, which lays out some of the best tests to easily incorporate into your clinical practice TODAY.

What surprised YOU this week? 👇
04/22/2026

What surprised YOU this week? 👇

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