Below is a list of courses recommended for Speech Language Pathologists. All courses are accredited by ASHA for continuing education credit hours. Click the links to see detail about each course. When you have completed your review, close the window to return to this page.
You can register for any course using the Register for Courses link in the menu at the top of each page.
Dysphagia Management in Long Term Care: The Essentials for the New Dysphagia Therapist | 7.0 Credit Hours
This Introductory Level course includes time-sensitive core materials that establish the foundations for dysphagia therapy in LTC. Case study examples are provided to facilitate the acquisition of care process essentials. Please note that this course is intended for Speech-Language Pathology professionals only.
Drugs and Dysphagia: Medications Affecting the Central Nervous System | 10.0 Credit Hours
This online experience is designed as two separate courses. The first course deals with medications affecting the Central Nervous System. The second course deals with medications affecting the Gastrointestinal System. You may choose to take only one course, or you can take both courses – in any order you wish.
Drugs and Dysphagia: Medications Affecting the Gastrointestinal System | 7.0 Credit Hours
This online experience is designed as two separate courses. The first course deals with medications affecting the Central Nervous System. The second course deals with medications affecting the Gastrointestinal System.
Dysphagia Programs: What the Rehab Manager Needs to Know | 2.0 Credit Hours
This course is designed to benefit the new or experienced Manager, Recruiter or Program Development Coordinator who needs to know the “ins-and-outs” of Dysphagia care. This course offers ways to promote and obtain reimbursement for your facility’s dining program. Additionally, you will confidently understand what the Advanced-Level Dysphagia Therapist looks for when choosing an employment setting. Finally, you will know how to nurture the Entry-Level Therapists you already have.
Esophageal Dysphagia: The Dysphagia Therapist’s Role in Identification and Treatment | 5.0 Credit Hours
Esophageal disorders may significantly impact the comfort, safety and nutritional status of the elderly nursing home resident. It is important for the Dysphagia Therapist to be able to differentiate symptoms of esophageal dysfunction from other problems that interfere with eating. This course is designed as an overview of the diagnoses, assessment procedures and treatment options for esophageal dysphagia.
Free Water Programs for Geriatric Dysphagia Management | 3.0 Credit Hours
The practice of restricting fluids to aspirating patients frequently has adverse outcomes including non-compliance, dehydration, and continued complaints of thirst. These problems may be reduced if free, unthickened water is allowed within an organized program. This course covers the rationale and procedure for using free water as a therapeutic tool, for developing an “in-house” program, and selecting appropriate participants.
Informed Consent for the Dysphagia Patient in Rehabilitation and Palliative Care | 3.0 Credit Hours
The Medical Doctor is ultimately responsible for obtaining written informed consent, but allied health professionals, including the Dysphagia Therapist, are expected to provide specialized counseling. Participants will be able to use the elements of informed consent to counsel elderly dysphagia patients. Participants will also learn that offering realistic palliative vs. rehabilitative goals will aid patients in decision-making.
Oral Health for the Elderly: Evaluation and Care | 4.0 Credit Hours
This course will convey how to complete a basic clinical evaluation of the mouth, especially as it relates to overall wellness and the development of systemic illness, and to present typical treatment options and care planning guidelines for restoration and maintenance of good oral hygiene.
Practical Application of Cervical Auscultation | 3.0 Credit Hours
Cervical Auscultation has become recognized as a useful tool in dysphagia evaluation and treatment. This course outlines the basic principles of both chest and cervical auscultation for practicing Dysphagia Therapists who would like to add this technique to his/her cache of clinical tools.
Tube Feeding in the Elderly: Applying Documented Outcomes to the Decision-Making Process | 3.0 Credit Hours
Tube feedings are being placed in the elderly at an ever-increasing rate without clear evidence of potential benefit to the patient. This basic to intermediate course provides a research review of outcomes of tube feedings in the elderly and chronically ill, and the risks involved with oral vs. non-oral nutrition.
Introduction to Evaluation and Treatment of Children with Eating and Feeding Disorders | 5.0 Credit Hours
This beginner to advanced beginner course is for pediatric therapists interested in developing the foundational skills to provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment within an interdisciplinary setting. Teachers, families and health professionals are increasingly seeking Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists to address children’s medical and behavioral feeding disorders.
Sensory Processing Disorders: Their Effects on Learning, Behavior and Motor Control | 13.0 Credit Hours
This is an introductory to intermediate level course designed for the therapist who wants to develop foundational knowledge and treatment skills for working with children with Sensory Processing Disorders. The course provides essential, practical information which will enhance your ability to provide intensive, goal-directed and effective therapy to children with sensory challenges.
Documentation Essentials: 10-Part Series
Documentation Essentials Part 01: Evaluations & Certifications | 2.0 Credit Hours
This course will discuss ways to write evaluation, re-evaluation, and certification documentation in compliance with Medicare requirements, to help ensure payment of the claim. The course will focus on the key points that must be present in order to establish the baseline for an episode of care.
Documentation Essentials Part 02: Coding Clean Claims | 2.0 Credit Hours
This course is designed to help therapists understand the basics of the coding required in order to submit a clean claim to Medicare B. The coding topics covered in this course include ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases) coding, CPT (Current Procedural Technology) coding, and understanding the CCI (Correct Coding Initiative) edits process.
Documentation Essentials Part 03: Goal Writing | 1.0 Credit Hour
This course will teach therapists to write clear, measurable and achievable goals that will assist in demonstrating progress in the medical record.
Documentation Essentials Part 04: Daily Notes & Progress Notes | 2.0 Credit Hours
This course will introduce the required documentation components for daily notes and therapy progress notes. Included are the requirements set by Medicare B, as well as important tips on how to improve documentation to capture medical necessity and skills of the therapist.
Documentation Essentials Part 05: Understanding Medical Necessity | 2.0 Credit Hours
This course will show how to make the documentation for therapy services support the need for medically reasonable and necessary therapy services. The student will learn the requirements set by Medicare B, as well as important tips on how to improve documentation to include medical necessity and skills of the therapist.
Documentation Essentials Part 06: Writing Successful HEP and RN Programs | 2.0 Credit Hours
Part of a therapist’s responsibility when providing services for a Medicare B beneficiary is to design a program that facilitates carryover from gains made in therapy to maintenance and continued improvement in a home living environment. This program takes the form of a home exercise program for independent patients, and may be a restorative nursing or functional maintenance program for those living in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). This course will introduce the components necessary to document these programs effectively.
Documentation Essentials Part 07: Discharge Summaries | 1.0 Credit Hour
Regardless of your payor source, a therapy plan of care cannot be closed without a proper discharge note. It is the clinician’s final opportunity to justify the services provided, demonstrate progress, and provide closure to the “story” of the patient’s treatment. This course provides the required documentation components of discharge from therapy services, including requirements set by Medicare B, as well as important tips on how to capture medical necessity and skills of the therapist.
Documentation Essentials Part 08: Navigating the Denials and Appeals Process | 1.0 Credit Hour
All therapy services provided to a Medicare B beneficiary under their benefit are subject to the scrutiny of Medicare as the payor. Some claims are paid, some are not. This course will assist therapists in understanding how to navigate the appeals and denials processes when a claim for services provided to a Medicare B beneficiary has been denied by the Medicare Approved Contractor (MAC), fiscal intermediary or carrier.
Documentation Essentials Part 09: Medicare Part A in SNFs (UPDATED!) | 2.0 Credit Hours
Providing therapy services under Medicare A in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) is a greatly rewarding experience. However, many therapists and assistants are challenged and intimidated by the numerous rules and regulations that govern the provision of these services. This module is designed to provide a bird’s eye overview of the UPDATED regulations, effective October 1, 2010 that govern the provision of therapy services and provide insight into how the overall payment system works under the MDS 3.0, including reimbursement under Medicare A, including RUGS-IV assessments are required, and how therapy services are delivered and captured for Medicare A beneficiaries.
End of Life Issues: A Guide for the HealthCare Professional | 7.0 Credit Hours
This course will introduce you to the Core Principles of End of Life Care, which have been endorsed by a substantial group of medical societies and have relevance to all allied health providers.
Intervention Strategies for Reducing Medical Errors | 2.0 Credit Hours
Course Goal: To direct healthcare professionals to concentrate more accurately on preventing medical errors by addressing system structure during the provision of patient care.