January 2019

IN THIS BITE: New Consumer Handouts Easy to Chew - Level 7 Regular Easy to Chew Updates to our website ASHA and AND support IDDSI IDDSI Implementation Webinar Series 2019 New IDDSI Translations IDDSI on the Move

CONSUMER HANDOUTS AND POSTER SERIES

Introducing our newest resource – Consumer Handouts for each IDDSI Level.   These handouts were developed for adults with dysphagia and families of children and babies with dysphagia as well as other careproviders.   Each IDDSI level of food (Levels 3-7) and drinks (Levels 0-4) is presented in an easy to read format with separate handouts for adults and careproviders of babies/children.  The recommended testing methods are clearly shown in visual graphic format.  In addition, we have included some additional resources: Examples of foods that may be appropriate for a particular IDDSI Level Example lists of foods to avoid. A handout on Transitional foods An FAQ on when to transition from baby/child size to adult food sizes A handout explaining IDDSI and how it can help improve safety.    We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to a number of individuals who reviewed the handouts and provided invaluable feedback. Sue Robins of Vancouver, Canada; Anna Miles and colleagues of New Zealand; Hannah Crawford, Judith Anderson, Kamini Gadhok, Louise Borjes and colleagues of the United Kingdom. Thank you! Consumer handouts are now available on our Resources page:

Visit our Resources

New Poster Series Looking for an easy reference to meet all your IDDSI needs?Presenting the first of our poster series. You will find our IDDSI Framework ( including the new Level 7 Regular Easy to Chew ), descriptors and testing methods for adults and children all in one handy poster!    Look for the IDDSI 'Print and Display' category on our Resources page or click on the image below to access. Stay tuned for more posters to come!

Level 7 Regular Easy to Chew

We are excited to highlight the new subcategory  Level 7 Regular Easy to Chew in our new handouts!  These are softer food choices that fall within Level 7 regular and are intended for those who do not require particle size restriction to help reduce choking risk.  Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent survey regarding this new subcategory.

Updating our Website

We are working on updating our current Framework, Descriptor and Testing Method documents on the IDDSI website to align with some of our new resources and the new Level 7 Regular Easy to Chew.    We will keep you posted in our e-bites about the status of these updates.  Resource development and updates are completed by the volunteer members of the IDDSI Board of Directors so we appreciate your patience.

IDDSI Implementation in the UK - a chance to learn and share ideas

The UK IDDSI Festival and Congress is taking place In London on February 18, 2019. This exciting event will offer an opportunity for individuals with dysphagia, carers, food service industry, the medical nutrition industry and clinical professionals to learn more about IDDSI implementation and to share experiences and ideas. For more information, including the festival programme, click here.

May 1, 2019 IDDSI Implementation Launch supported by ASHA and AND

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) announced their support for the May 1, 2019 - IDDSI Implementation launch date.  The Association has joined with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) in supporting the efforts to implement IDDSI across the U.S..   More information available here.

YES! We receive your messages. We are always excited to hear from you! The IDDSI Board of Directors is run by volunteers and although we'd like to be able to provide answers to specific questions, we receive many more individual inquiries than we can respond to. That being said, the answer to a vast majority of the questions submitted through our online form can be easily found through our website. We'd like to encourage all IDDSI users to perform the following actions before trying to get in touch with us: Read the full Framework and Testing Methods documents. Check out our FAQ’s. When we receive a number of similar questions, we create FAQs to answer these. Visit our Resources page Read and revisit monthly e-bites We will be improving our website and will be working on a better system to address the large volume of inquiries we receive, so stay tuned.

We will be starting our new webinar series in early 2019.  We have 2 speakers from the Michigan University Hospital who will be sharing their IDDSI Implementation Story in March 2019.  Watch for further webinar announcements to register.  If you missed out attending any of our previous webinars – you can watch them on our YouTube channel.

IDDSI Translations

Looking for a translated version of the IDDSI Framework, Descriptors or Testing Methods? Check our completed translations tab on the IDDSI website for the following: Chinese (simplified), Farsi, French (Canada), French (France), Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and Swahili. Languages currently up for review include:      Arabic, Dutch, German, Greek, Japanese, Russian, Slovenian and Vietnamese.  Are you fluent in any of these languages?  If so, please consider reviewing these documents and adding any comments or suggestions for the translation before final posting.   Languages in progress: Thai, Turkish, Hindi, Hebrew, Urdu, Zulu, Portuguese (Portugal), and Marathi. Do you speak a language not currently under translation?  Would you be willing to provide a translation? We want to hear from you.  We now have an easier online-based translation feedback form.  Check out our Translations tab.

IDDSI on the Move

December 2018 - National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. December 2018- Fresenius Kabi conference, Advances in the Treatment and Management of Dysphagia, Stratford on Avon, UK January 2019- Flemish Association of Speech Language Pathologists conference, Belgium January 2019 - NYU Intersession course: Dysphagia and Nutrition February 2019 – UK IDDSI Congress & Festival, UK Please let us know what you are doing in your part of the world. We would be happy to share it with the rest of the world.

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