LSHSS Clinical Forum Prologue Managing Dysphagia in the Schools Lemmietta G. McNeilly American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Rockville, MD Justine J. Sheppard Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY I t has been 8 years since the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) published the first clinical forum on dysphagia in the schools. Logemann and O’Toole (2000), the guest editors for that forum, noted that the forum was motivated by the increase in enrollment of children with medically based communication and swallowing problems. This increase was significant for school based speech- language pathologists (SLPs) who raised questions and concerns about their role in the assessment, treatment, and daily management of these problems and the responsibilities of their school districts. The trend of increasing student population with dysphagia has continued and has been augmented by the growing cohort of graduates of neonatal intensive care units and the growing pop- ulation of children with autism spectrum disorder. Furthermore, changes in federal legislation and case law have clarified some of the issues that are central to administrative decisions, educational programs, and related services associated with dysphagia manage- ment in the schools. As one would expect, this growing population of children with special needs has stimulated increased interest and research. The contributing authors in this issue, each with significant experience that informs their views and observations, report their research and provide reviews of the literature. It is our intention that this forum will encourage further research and stimulate the interest and enhance the knowledge and skills of the school-based SLP. Summary of Content The clinical forum begins with Power-deFur and Alley’s ex- ploration of the legal and legislative foundations for dysphagia curriculum and related services and the financial strategies available for funding these programs. Next, Huffman and Owre report the results of a survey of school-based SLPs concerning their pro- fessional and clinical needs in the area of dysphagia management in the school setting. They discuss ethical issues for dysphagia services in the schools and provide illustrative case histories. In this as in other articles in this forum, the information has relevance that transcends specific work settings and disorders. Next, as did Power-deFur, Homer provides an update of an article that was published in the 2000 forum. She discusses the 10-year history ABSTRACT: Purpose: This prologue introduces the clinical forum, “Managing Dysphagia in the Schools,” and informs the reader of the scope of the included articles. Method: The contributing authors are introduced and a brief summary is provided for each of the 10 articles that make up the forum. Conclusion: The articles address a broad range of issues, with specific reference to children with dysphagia in school settings. There are comprehensive reviews of legislation, ethical issues, cultural issues, motor learning, medically fragile conditions, severe neuromuscular impairments, and autism spectrum disorder. In addition, there are systematic observations and research that address a model public school dysphagia program, school-based speech-language pathologists’ perceptions of competency, family perceptions of school programs, and a program for implementing transition from tube to oral feeding. KEY WORDS: pediatric, dysphagia, swallowing and feeding disorders, school service delivery, culturally appropriate intervention, legislation, ethical considerations LANGUAGE,SPEECH, AND HEARING SERVICES IN SCHOOLS • Vol. 39 • 158–159 • April 2008 * American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 0161-1461/08/3902-0158 158