$74.00 USD

85% rating - reviews

0.35  ASHA CEUs

Assessing Cough In Dysphagia Practice #e74


Presenter: Teresa Pitts, PhD, CCC-SLP

Learn assessment, diagnosis, and treatment techniques to make evidence-based decisions related to the cough event.


"This was very pertinent to some of the patients I have been treating lately. I liked the rehabilitation ideas."

– S.J., prior course participant

Read more comments about this course!

When patients cough during or after a meal how significant is this event? Are there means to determine if the cough is related to dysphagia? This research-focused course examines the literature on cough and dysphagia to help speech-language pathologists and other healthcare professionals make evidence-based decisions related to the cough event.

Participants will learn the phases of cough and understand how each cough phase is produced. Covered will be assessment, diagnosis, and treatment techniques and how to use cough measurement along with other respiratory/swallow measures. Learn what diseases and conditions could affect cough.

Course is offered for 0.35 ASHA CEUs – 3.5 Contact Hours.

Course Overview – Run Time: 3:35:26

  • Cough Anatomy and Physiology
  • Cough & Swallow
  • Cough In The Clinic
  • Rehabilitation of Dystussia
  • Cough And Spinal Cord Injury
"I enjoyed the description of phases of a cough with diagrams. Also, understanding that just listening to a cough is not a good way to evaluate it. Plus, the understanding that the UES must constrict during cough. The specifics of why Parkinson's patients have a disordered cough, and instructions for assessing voluntary cough were also helpful."

– S.N., prior course participant

Read more comments about this course!

The content of this online CE course does not focus exclusively on any specific proprietary product or service. Presenter financial and non-financial disclosures may be found in the Presenter & Disclosures area.

Video PowerPoint presentation with author narration & downloadable handout. Stop and re-start the course at any point. Learners retain access to course content after completion for ongoing reference and review.

Reviews

"The treatment topics were helpful." A.H. (Jan. 2024)

"Discussing cough as related to SCI patients was beneficial." J.P. (Jan. 2024)

"The breakdown of information to better understand cough was helpful. I liked the application to clinical use and interpretation." S.M. (Dec. 2023)

"Practical clinical application. I liked the treatment options." J.R. (Oct. 2023)

"I liked the explanation of different coughs and the detailed explanations." E.S. (Aug. 2023)

"I liked the info I can share with patients, family, and doctors on relevance. The value of assessing cough in conjunction with swallowing deficits was beneficial." D.B. (Jul. 2023)

"Good mix of research and clinical. Assessment of cough was beneficial." C.G. (Jul. 2023)

"Improved my understanding of the pragmatic of respiration. I liked the presentation." B.P. (Jul. 2023)

"Cough and swallow in stroke and PD were beneficial topics. I liked the length and detailed information of this course." M.M. (Jun. 2023)

"I liked the treatment options. And learning stages of the cough." K.G. (Jun. 2023)

"Spinal cord injury, and EMST were beneficial topics." M.P. (May 2023)

"I liked the information on spinal cord injury, baclofen, and EMST/IMST." M.G. (Apr. 2023)

"I liked the review of anatomy and the descriptions of phases of cough." T.R. (Dec. 2022)

"New information learned, such as ASIA scale. And adding cough goals to the plan of care." J.M. (Jul. 2022)

"Very interesting content. I liked the anatomy and clinical practice." C.C. (Jul. 2022)

"I liked the visual data and support of the EMST exercises." E.N. (Jul. 2022)

"I liked the organization and flow of the material. It is obvious the presenter has been active in direct patient care. Also, the assessment of cough and inclusion of respiratory strength training was beneficial." B.G. (Jun. 2022)

"I liked the whole course. It's been a long time since I heard a continuing ed that was very interesting. I liked the phases of cough, influences such as vital capacity and expiratory drive, EST influence." J.T. (Apr. 2022)

"Use of digital peak flow meter, EMST, and inspiratory strength training which I feel the output measures would help aid resident getting on board with insight and participation to ensure improved upper airway protection. I liked the general assessment and treatments." K.K. (Apr. 2022)

"I used to be private practice voice center with mostly chronic cough, post viral cough/voice therapy, now I am inpatient rehab, so excited for the SCI info. Thank you." M.P. (Jan. 2022)

"A deep dive into cough as a subject – incorporating assessment and treatment of cough into assessment and treatment of dysphagia." J.H. (Jan. 2022)

"I liked the research and application to clinical tx. And the enthusiasm from the presenter regarding the topic of cough." K.A. (Jan. 2022)

"I liked the examples provided by the presenter – how cough can be used to assess aspiration." J.S. (Dec. 2021)

"This was very pertinent to some of the patients I have been treating lately. I liked the rehabilitation ideas." S.J. (Dec. 2021)

"I liked the techniques for rehabilitation of the cough." J.P. (Dec. 2021)

"So much of the information was helpful. I work in a LTACH with patients on vent, with trach and spinal cord injuries. This instructor was fantastic. She gave so many outlines, repeated slides that were important, repeated information and gave so many reviews. She summed up what she had presented so thoroughly, with outlines and she provided links to her research, her colleagues research, photos of what she was talking about, etc. This was so much information. The presenter's rate was appropriate and she was pleasant to listen to for 3 hours!!"  S.D. (Oct. 2021)

"The PowerPoint slides were relevant and interesting. The discussion on Spinal cord injury was most beneficial." K.M. (Jun. 2021)

“I enjoyed the presenter's willingness to share knowledge liberally! I can hear the passion in the topics discussed just from the recording alone!” X.C. (Mar. 2021)

"Going over the use of EMST was most beneficial. The presentation was organized and speaker did well communicating the message." T.H. (Mar. 2021)

“I enjoyed the description of phases of a cough with diagrams. Also, understanding that just listening to a cough is not a good way to evaluate it. Plus, the understanding that the UES must constrict during cough. The specifics of why Parkinson's patients have a disordered cough, and instructions for assessing voluntary cough were also helpful.” S.N. (Feb. 2021)

"Very thorough! I liked the data and how the speaker stressed that we each should be a part of assessing the cough as a tool.” D.C. (Feb. 2021)

“It was very informative on assessing cough when completing Dysphagia evaluation, and treatments in a clinical setting. I also liked that I could pause the presentation and listen to the information again. It was helpful to have the materials to look at during the presentation.” P.E. (Jan 2021)

"The techniques to facilitate cough, i.e.: use of EMST device, are practical to my current practice. I enjoyed the case studies and patient examples. I would have appreciated a list of contraindications for EMST in medical patients." M.P. (Jan. 2021)

"I enjoyed the discussion of the cough reflex. I don't work with spinal cord pts but do work in SNFs and geriatrics so cough disorder is common. Very informative lecture." G.J. (Jan. 2021)

Course Objectives

  1. Understand and recognize phases of cough.
  2. Understand how each cough phase is produced.
  3. Begin to use diagnosis and treatment techniques clinically.
  4. Begin to use cough measurement along with other respiratory/swallow measures.
  5. Understand what diseases and conditions could affect cough.

Presenter & Disclosures

Teresa Pitts, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an assistant research professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences at the University of Florida. She received her bachelor and master of art degrees in Communicative Disorders at the University of Central Florida and there also received her clinical certification for Speech-Language Pathology. She completed her doctorate in 2010 at the University of Florida, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, where her studies focused on the study of airway protection in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Pitts' work focuses on increasing our understanding of the coordination of cough and swallow through basic science, clinical, and computational modeling research techniques. Dr. Pitts is also working on developing novel treatment techniques for dysphagia and dystussia.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial — Teresa Pitts is the author of online CEU courses offered by Northern Speech Services; receives royalty payments.

Financial — Teresa Pitts is employed by The University of Florida; receives a salary.

Financial — Teresa Pitts receives funding through a Pathway To Independence K99/R00 Award through the National Institutes of Health; receives grant funding.

Nonfinancial — Teresa Pitts has no relevant nonfinancial relationships to disclose.

Intended Audience / Accreditation

asha ce approved provider

This program is offered for 0.35 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate Level; Professional Area).

Intended Audience

  • Speech-Language Pathologists

ASHA CEUs: NSS online courses are registered with ASHA and are offered for ASHA CEUs. The number of ASHA CEUs is noted above. Note that 0.1 ASHA CEU = 1 contact hour = equals 1 CEE.

ASHA CE Registry: During the enrollment process, if you select to receive ASHA credit for this course and if you provide your ASHA number, NSS will automatically submit your CEU information to the ASHA CE Registry after successful course completion (80% on post test). This submission happens once per month, during the first week of the month. For example, if you complete your course on November 7th, NSS will submit all November online course CEUs to ASHA during the first week of December. When ASHA inputs the information into their database, they will mark the course as completed on the last day of the month in which it was completed, so November 30th using this example. The certificate of completion available for you to print immediately, however, will reflect the actual completion date, November 7th in this example. Due to ASHA processing procedures please allow 2-3 weeks, from the submission date, for the course to appear on your ASHA transcript.

ASHA CEUs: Attendees must meet at least one of the following conditions in order to be eligible to earn ASHA CEUs:

  • Current ASHA Member
  • ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) Holder
  • Licensed by a state or provincial regulatory agency to practice speech-language pathology (SLP) or audiology
  • Credentialed by a state regulatory agency to practice SLP or audiology
  • Credentialed by a national regulatory agency to practice SLP or audiology
  • Engaged in a Clinical Fellowship under the supervision of an individual with their ASHA CCC
  • Currently enrolled in a master's or doctoral program in SLP or audiology

If an attendee is not an ASHA member or CCC holder but meets any of the above criteria, they may inform the ASHA CE Registry of their eligibility by visiting this site.

Licensing Boards: Most state licensing boards DO accept CEUs earned online (usually classified as home-study credits). Some state boards do, however, place a limit to the number of credits that can be earned via home study/online courses. For the most current information, we suggest that you contact your licensing board or agency to verify acceptance policies and/or any credit limits related to home-study courses prior to registering for this course.

Additional accrediting agencies by which Northern Speech is an approved CE provider:

  • California: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the California Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology Board. Provider #PDP4. Online CEU limits may apply; please contact SLPAHADB for current online CEU acceptance policies.
  • Iowa: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Iowa Board of Speech Pathology and Audiology Examiners. Provider #169.
  • Kansas: NSS is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Provider #LTS-S0005.

Frequently Asked Questions



Customer Support: Please phone 888.337.3866 or email info@northernspeech.com.

Course Completion Timeframe:

You have unlimited time to complete our online courses. You may log off and log on as often as you’d like to in order to complete all sections of a course.

However, completion dates are based on Eastern Standard Time. Therefore, if you need your CEUs by a certain date, be sure to complete the course test before 11:59pm EST on that date. For example, if you need CEUs before January 1st, you will need to complete the course test before 11:59pm EST on December 31st.

Content Access:

Access to course materials and content does not expire, even after completing the post test. You may continue to review course material by logging into your NSS account, clicking the My Online Courses tab, and then viewing your desired course.

Certificate of Completion:

On successful completion of the post test (80%), a certificate will be immediately available for download and/or printing. This certificate will include your name, date of completion (based on Eastern Time Zone, USA/Canada), and number of contact hours (CEUs / CEEs). Please note that CEUs are awarded on the date of successful test completion, not the date of course enrollment. Please ensure that you successfully complete the post test prior to any licensure renewal dates.

ASHA CE Registry Submission:

During the enrollment process, if you select to receive ASHA credit for this course and if you provide your ASHA number, NSS will automatically submit your CEU information to the ASHA CE Registry after successful course completion (80% on post test). This submission happens once per month, during the first week of the month. For example, if you complete your course on November 7th, NSS will submit all November online course CEUs to ASHA during the first week of December. When ASHA inputs the information into their database, they will mark the course as completed on the last day of the month in which it was completed, so November 30th using this example. The certificate of completion available for you to print immediately, however, will reflect the actual completion date, November 7th in this example. Due to ASHA processing procedures please allow 2-3 weeks, from the submission date, for the course to appear on your ASHA transcript.

Purchase Orders:

Purchase orders are currently not accepted for online orders, if you wish to submit a purchase order please do so at info@northernspeech.com or fax to 888-696-9655.

What is an Online Course?

Our Online Courses consist of video, audio, and/or text content and are offered for ASHA CEUs. Unlike a webinar, which requires participants to be logged on and at a computer at specific times, our Online Courses are available to you at any time, from any device, via your NorthernSpeech.com online account. You may work at your own pace and start and stop your course as you wish. Your course will conclude with a short post test. On successful completion of the post test (>80%), a printable certificate of completion is presented to you.

Receiving CEUs:

Northern Speech is an ASHA CE Provider and our online courses are registered with ASHA and offered for ASHA CEUs. Please note that successful completion of the online post test is required prior to the awarding of CEUs. Please contact your state licensing board for acceptance policies related to CEUs earned online. Please note that courses offered for university students are not applicable for CEUs.

Registering for an online course:

You may browse all online courses by clicking the Continuing Education tab above, then Online Courses. Once you find a course, click Enroll Now, and you will be asked to either log into your existing Northern Speech account or create a new online account. Once you’ve entered your account information and provided your credit card payment, your course will be immediately available to you.

Accessing your purchased course or returning to a purchased course:

You will be able to access your online course by logging into your Northern Speech account and then clicking the My Online Courses tab on your profile screen. Click the course you would like to start or to resume. From there, proceed through the course sections until you are ready to complete the post test. You do not have to complete your course all at once. You may log on and off as you wish.

Testing requirements:

Each online course concludes with a post test consisting of multiple choice or true & false questions. Scores of 80% or greater are required for successful course completion and awarding of CEUs. You may revisit course materials and retest as needed to achieve a passing score.

Number of CEUs offered:

We offer courses from 1 to 21 contact hours. Each course will note the number of CEUs offered. Please note that 0.1 CEU = 1 contact hour = 1 CEE.

State licensing boards and online CEUs:

NSS is an ASHA CE Provider and most state licensing boards DO accept ASHA CEUs earned online (usually classified as home-study credits). Some boards do, however, place a limit to the number of CEUs that can be earned via home study/online courses. For the most current information, we suggest that you contact your licensing board or agency to verify acceptance policies and/or any CEU limits related to home-study courses prior to enrolling in an online course.

Course formats:

Our course formats include: text, audio, video, and PowerPoint with author narration. Each course will note the format on the course description page. Most courses include closed captioning.

Course handouts:

Most of our online courses provide a link to download the accompanying handout as a PDF file. 

Group discounts:

Groups of 3 or more are eligible for a 20% discount on each registration on most of our online courses. To receive this discount, registrations need to be processed together via the "Group Rates" tab on the Online Course of your choice.

Computer requirements:

For our online courses to function best, we recommend that you update your computer to include the newest version of your Internet browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, etc.) and newest version of your computer's operating system. Also a high-speed Internet connection is recommended (cable or DSL). Speakers or headphones will be required for many of our courses as many contain audio components.

Course Cancellation Policy:

A purchased online course can be exchanged, refunded, or transferred to another individual if contact is made with NSS (via phone or email) within 30 days of purchase and the course materials have not been viewed or downloaded. 

Special Needs:

Please click here for any special needs requests, and we will do our best to accommodate them. 

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