First Bite #113 – August 18, 2020

The Evidence Regarding NMES for Pediatrics

(.1 ASHA and AOTA CEUs) For more info, click here.

Course Description

In this episode, Michelle is joined by Rick McAdoo, M.S., CCC-SLP, Vice-President and Co-Founder of Ampcare, LLC, an FDA registered medical device and services company in Fort Worth, TX, and adjunct professor at his alma mater, TCU.  The efficacy of utilization of NMEs as a potential treatment for Pediatric Oropharyngeal Dysphagia is controversial…check any professional Facebook page for the comment thread and it can get heated, (to say the least).  In this episode, Rick, whose career has focused on the evidence of treatment for utilizing Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) to facilitate better and faster therapeutic outcomes in dysphagia, shares all the details and implications for its use in pediatrics… and y’all it’s a dozey guaranteed to leave you spinning!  If you’ve lost referrals to the hospital out-pt clinic down the street that offers NMES for infants, be sure to tune in, because the evidence will joyfully surprise you!

Objective

By the end of this PodCourse, participants will be able to identify and describe:

  • What NMES is and the evidence for use in pediatric patients with dysphagia.
  • The difference between NMES and Traditional Exercises.
  • Evidenced-based differences between NMES vs sEMG for pediatric patients with dysphagia.

Co-Presenter

Rick McAdoo, M.S., CCC-SLP

Rick McAdoo received his Bachelor of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 1989 and Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology in 1990 from Texas Christian University. Following an externship at the VA Hospital in Dallas, Texas, he has worked primarily with the adult neurogenic population with a specialized emphasis in dysphagia. Current research and treatment focus since the mid-1990s include methods of utilizing Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) to facilitate better and faster therapeutic outcomes in dysphagia. He is the Vice-President and Co-Founder of Ampcare, LLC, an FDA registered medical device and services company in Fort Worth, TX. The Ampcare Founders also includes Russ Campbell, PT and Ronda Polansky, M.S. CCC-SLP. Rick also is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, TCU.