Special thanks to Mr. Ahmet Erkut, the President of the Speech Therapy Association of Turkey, for inviting Mr. Yoon Wai Lam from Singapore Swallowing Specialists to present at the second Zoom workshop (23 & 30 June 2024) on “VFS & FEES Interpretation and Treatment Planning” to the Speech Therapy Association of Turkey. The workshop was attended by more than 140 enthusiastic speech therapists, resulting in lots of great questions and discussions.
We look forward to more future collaboration.
The following are some of the slides from the FEES Workshop:
FEES view at the Oropharynx and Laryngopharyx FEES: Anatomy of the pharynx and larynx (Superior View)FEES: Interesting case study on the “Rising Tide” presentation
The following are some of the slides from the VFS workshop:
VFS: AnatomyVFS: The normal swallowing sequenceVFS: Case Study on the “Tennis Player” A chronic severe dysphagia client was successfully treated with therapy using sEMG biofeedback. This client managed to resume a regular diet and thin fluids and had his PEG tube removed.
The year 2023 marks a monumental achievement for the Singapore Speech Therapy/Dysphagia community as CTAR (Chin Tuck Against Resistance), the inaugural swallowing therapy exercise, gains recognition for its pivotal role in advancing swallowing rehabilitation (Huckabee et al., 2023). Invented by Mr. Yoon Wai Lam, a distinguished Speech Therapist from Singapore, CTAR aims to provide a simple, economical, and highly effective exercise for strengthening the suprahyoid muscles involved in swallowing. Mr. Yoon first developed CTAR using a S$2.00 ‘pasar malam’ (a Malay word meaning night market in Singapore) inflatable rubber ball.
Figure taken from: Huckabee, ML., Mills, M., Flynn, R. et al. The Evolution of Swallowing Rehabilitation and Emergence of Biofeedback Modalities. Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep 11, 144–153 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40136-023-00451-8
CTAR made its global debut at the Dysphagia Research Society conference in 2013 in Seattle, Washington, USA. The unexpected surge of interest and the honor of receiving first place for the Scientific Abstract Poster underscored CTAR’s immediate impact. The initial CTAR journal article, published in Dysphagia Journal in 2014, quickly became one of the top 10 most downloaded articles of that year. A subsequent 2016 article further solidified its influence, collectively amassing 157 citations in various textbooks and journal articles to date.
Beyond its original conception, CTAR inspired the development of numerous devices globally. However, Mr. Yoon distinguished himself by advancing the CTAR procedure without additional costs or commercial devices, relying solely on hand movements.
In a commendable move towards accessibility, Mr. Yoon launched the Singapore Swallowing Specialists YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/@singaporeswallowingspecial735). This platform provides free CTAR videos in multiple languages, reaching over 60 thousand individuals worldwide.
The details of the CTAR exercise can be found at the following links:
Huckabee, ML., Mills, M., Flynn, R. et al. The Evolution of Swallowing Rehabilitation and Emergence of Biofeedback Modalities. Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep 11, 144–153 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40136-023-00451-8
Sze, W. P., Yoon, W. L., Escoffier, N., & Rickard Liow, S. J. (2016). Evaluating the Training Effects of Two Swallowing Rehabilitation Therapies Using Surface Electromyography-Chin Tuck Against Resistance (CTAR) Exercise and the Shaker Exercise. Dysphagia, 31(2), 195–205. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-015-9678-2
Yoon, W.L., Khoo, J., & Liow, S. (2014). Chin tuck against resistance (CTAR): a new method for enhancing suprahyoid muscle activity using a Shaker-type exercise. Dysphagia. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00455-013-9502-9
Special thanks to Mr Ahmet Erkut, The President of Speech Therapy Association of Turkey for invited Mr Yoon from Singapore Swallowing Specialists to present on this Zoom Workshop (2 & 9 April 2023) on “Dysphagia Management in Adult” for the Speech Therapy Association of Turkey. Attended by more than 140 enthusiastic Speech Therapists. Lots of great questions and discussions. We hope to have more collaboration in future.
2018 has been a great year for Speech Therapy Works and Singapore Swallowing Specialists in both business expansion and mentoring program. As we come to the end of 2018, the team would like to take this opportunity to thank all the Singapore and overseas clients, doctors, partners, and healthcare professionals for all their support and trust in us. We will continue to improve to ensure better service satisfaction and treatment outcomes for all our clients.
As part of the effort to reach out to even more people who requires speech and swallowing therapy, we will continue to work with our regional partners to conduct more training and workshops in the coming years.
Wish Everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year 2019!!!
Lecture on “The Importance of Anatomy & Physiology Knowledge in Dysphagia Management & Treatment” to Year 2 – 4 students at the National University of Malaysia (UKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 18 December 2018
Singapore Swallowing Specialists 