1Postgraduate Student, Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai
2Senior Lecturer, Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University, Porur, Chennai
*Corresponding author: Sri Sumarni, Politeknik Kesehatan Kementrian Kesehatan, Semarang, Indonesia
Online published on 19 June, 2018.
Dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing has varied cause. It is widely seen in individuals post Cerebro Vascular Accident. The associated conditions of stroke limit patients’ possibility to undergo swallowing therapy on a regular basis in a clinical setup. In addition, Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) working in this domain are scarce in India
An android based application with video in Tamil (regional language) and English was developed by software programmer with the input of SLPs. This application was aimed to be used in adjunct with conventional dysphagia therapy. The link for downloading the application was sent to three patients diagnosed to have dysphagia after clinical swallow examination. These three individuals were instructed to follow the exercises prescribed to them and document in the record sheet after practice. All three participants were instructed to practice the prescribed exercise 4 times a day for 14 days
On clinical swallow examination all three participants improved in their swallowing ability after two weeks of continuous therapy using the application, although not ready for complete oral feeds
This android application would be first of few in India and in Tamil which could be used in treating individuals with dysphagia where there is scarcity of professionals working in this domain
This could be an adjunct treatment, however cannot replace the role of SLP in the treatment
Although this android application was field tested, increase in sample size in future would demonstrate its validity in clinical usage.
Dysphagia, Speech Language Pathologist, Android based application
