[Dysphagia] re: therapy

[smilinggirl336 at comcast.net (smilinggirl336@comcast.net)]

OK, My high horse here......We cannot force patients to do what we want them to do, even if we know/believe what we are teaching is right.  Expecting patients to obey aspiration precautions or diet modifications is like expecting people to stop smoking or lose weight because it increases their risk of heart attack or stroke or diabetes.  Our job is to teach them as best we can - what is wrong, why, best management strategies, and the possible consequences.  People will choose to comply or not.  

I have associated with SLP's who feel that we then should not treat aspiration pneumonia when patients do not comply with our instructions.  That would be like saying, "You didn't lose the weight, so I'm not treating your heart attack!"  We are professionals, not dictators!  We have to respect everyone's right to choose!  That doesn't make our job any less important -