Many people view meals as a necessity and nothing more. When they gather to eat, people form an emotional connection, and every meal becomes a social event. When a person has dysphasia, however, eating can be challenging and embarrassing. Individuals often avoid eating out when they have this condition.
Individuals with dysphagia require altered food textures. They can’t eat what everyone else at the table is eating, and they often use compensatory swallowing strategies. Fortunately, some restaurants now recognize that individuals suffer from this condition and are taking steps to accommodate them so they can enjoy their meals with others. Singapore was the first country to offer one of these restaurants, but some in America could soon follow suit. They may do so with the help of products from SimplyThick.
Motivation
The National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders hosted an event with partners entitled “Dining Out with Dysphasia.” This virtual event took place in 2022 and brought together dysphasia professionals and individuals struggling with this condition. These individuals said they would like increased meal time accessibility while dining at restaurants. They stated they would like to eat out in public more if their needs could be met.
The professionals offered strategies to make dining out more manageable, including establishing realistic goals, viewing the menu before visiting the restaurant, and providing instructions on preparing meals. In addition, the professional suggested that individuals with this condition should carry their thickener with them. However, the individuals expressed they would also like restaurant owners and others to develop dining initiatives that would accommodate this condition.
Awareness
When first approached, many restaurants were not interested in offering dysphagia-friendly dining. In fact, only one cafe in Cincinnati was willing to do pilot training. Employees tried foods that were dysphagia-friendly and discussed modified food textures with those running the training.
During this training, they were asked to sample different menu items and consider each’s texture. They were then asked how they might modify these items for individuals with swallowing disorders. Throughout the training, the employees were encouraged to ask questions. Many people remain unfamiliar with this disorder and how textures affect a person’s ability to eat.
All employees who took part in this training were willing to change their work environment and ask customers if they needed food modifications when ordering. Suggestions from this trial run included identifying dysphasia-friendly items on a menu and figuring out how to adjust other menu items. Furthermore, those taking part in the training stated there was a need to publicize this information so individuals with dysphagia would know it was a restaurant that could accommodate their needs.
What Comes Next?
Individuals with dysphasia in their allies need to advocate for more restaurants to alter menus to accommodate this disorder. They may reach out to these restaurants and ask that the restaurant hold dysphasia learning events so people can learn about this disorder from the patient’s perspective and how it affects their ability to dine out. Restaurants should work with experts when developing a menu to ensure they can include dysphasia-friendly items or can easily be adapted for individuals with this condition. Restaurants may add International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) labels to the items on the menu much as they do gluten-free and vegetarian items.
Every person should have the opportunity to dine out when they wish to. Meals with family and friends allow for socialization and improved quality of life. Individuals with dysphasia should not be left out of these meals. With education and training, more restaurants can accommodate people with this condition so they can live the highest quality of life.
Great information. Sadly, I don’t think dysphagia diet issues have been addressed much, as our society often equates this need with the elderly population, (though can be a need for any age) and so not much expectation/standard to improve upon. But, like so many other basic need areas that were worth changing, like having access into the restaurant itself, adapting bathroom stalls, along with various restaurants’ diet offerings
already mentioned, dysphagia accommodations too can eventually be made. And, yes…much of the process for such change will happen with ongoing customer requests.