The 2026 Dysphagia Cafe Virtual Symposium | 10/10/2026

In dysphagia management, real-world cases rarely fit neatly into protocols or severity scales. This one-day virtual conference is designed for clinicians who want to sharpen clinical reasoning when clinical presentations are atypical, risk is nuanced, and decisions carry significant consequences.

We will explore how to interpret risk beyond ratings, recognize swallowing patterns across time, and integrate instrumental findings with patient response. Sessions will challenge assumptions about what “functional” truly means, address decision fatigue in complex assessments, and examine when therapy should be modified or stopped.

Beyond physiology, we will focus on communicating uncertainty with confidence, incorporating quality of life into care planning, and acknowledging the cumulative burden dysphagia places on caregivers. We will also examine why new tools don’t always change practice and highlight unresolved debates shaping modern care. This conference is about strengthening judgement in the gray zones, where algorithms fall short and thoughtful clinical reasoning matters most.

Learning Objectives

1. List two or more examples when dysphagia therapy should be modified, continued, or discontinued based on medical status, treatment response, and overall prognosis.
2. Describe a communication strategy to discuss clinical uncertainty, caregiver burden, or risk-benefit decision-making with patients, families, or interdisciplinary team members.
3. Identify a patient-centered dysphagia management recommendation by integrating physiologic findings, quality-of-life considerations, and individualized goals of care.
4. Analyze clinical factors beyond dysphagia severity ratings that influence aspiration risk and functional swallowing outcomes in complex patient presentations.
5. Compare the benefits and limitations of emerging dysphagia technologies and assessment tools in complex clinical decision-making.