SWALLOWPICTURE

Myofunktional Exercise  Collect ion

Application:

The SWALLOW PICTURE is practically is “merely” a motivation measure and thus less suitable to accomplish its own chapter. But as in the literature positive experience are frequently stated, grounds and backgrounds for its execution shall be discussed here. The application of this measure will be prescribed in case of impaired deglutition about which topic further remarks may be found in the chapters:

SWALLOW-MECHANISM

SWALLOW REFLEX EXERCISES

SWALLOW MECHANISM.

In the general training plan till now and up to this point every detail step of the swallowing process has been (as far as necessary) reconstructed, the chain links linked together to form the reflex chain. Now every conceivable motivation is requested to habituate this fundamental, vital and complicated reflex, meaning, to cause the patient to have his mind on this enterprise in the following phase at any meal, at any blank or saliva swallow – even at night – and so to force himself to put into practice.

This is what the SWALLOW PICTURE will serve for.

Contents:

MEMO, patient made picture, graphical contents of the learned and trained.

Materials:

Painting utensils.

Procedure:

- Previous exercises: Instructions and exercises for the detail steps of the swallowing process have been passed.

-Starting position: Each.

- Step-by-step-description:

In the course of the therapy to correct the swallow process the patient has taken up a multitude of informations practiced motion sequences and, thus, inevitably, created a virtual picture of the whole issue and developed his own perceptions.

Now as we are trying to anchor the reflex course in his unconscious it will be of crucial importance to experience what his perceptions are (figuratively), what “got over”. Of course we can not ask the patient to give us a lecture about the swallow reflex; never the less we will have to come to know about the picture he himself has got about this procedure as to be able to intervene if necessary. So we seek to get this picture as a painted mental conception.

As experience teaches, even a young or ungifted patient will be able to commit something on paper.

Sometimes astonishingly detailed pictures are created and not rarely even of an interior view – a transparent human.

The opus will be discussed lengthily having the therapist be informed about every detail; only through this we will be able to come to know which perceptions have developed from our work, and only in this way we will be able to affect arising inaccuracies again in a correcting manner.

In these cases a second corrected version of the swallow picture falls due.

This is the one side of the action.

The second one is self-motivation.

The patient will have to figure out his own thoughts and perceptions by painting before he can put them down on paper.

The third aspect is the motivation for a correct swallowing. The patient, now, has his own thoughts along with our comment directly before his very eyes. So our directives will be:

Hang up the picture somewhere in the house plainly visible in a place where it will strike the eye and again and again reminds of the intention to swallow right.

-Timing: As mentioned, prescription at the beginning an in the course of the habituating phase.

Characteristics:

Information, Motivation to self-monitoring.

Remarks:

The resulting picture will be subjected to greatest consideration by the therapist which is to be conveyed to the patient.

Discussion:

It came to prove beneficial to have a colour copy made from the picture to be handed over to the patient with the expression of the highest appreciation (the original will stay with the patient’s record).

Instructions:

…….for the patient to perform the exercise.

Let us paint a picture about how to swallow correctly.

So get some paper and paint and paint on how a correct swallow will have to look!

I am quite curious about the result because I want to know if I have been a good coach to explain everything correctly.

The next session you will have to explain to me precisely all that is shown on the picture and I will have to say if something is not quite correct.

After we have looked on it together it is very important that you take it home and hang it on a wall a t a site where it again and again will strike your eye. It will constantly remind you to the completely correct swallow.