May 2019

IN THIS BITE
  • Background on Regular 7 Easy to Chew
  • Resources Update
  • IDDSI Congress
  • Dysphagia Awareness Month and #IDDSIchallenge
  • Canadian IDDSI Expert Reference Group (CIERG)
  • Webinar Series
  • IDDSI Translations
  • IDDSI on the Move
A bit of background on REGULAR 7 Easy to Chew
Our newest subcategory Regular 7 Easy to Chew was developed following feedback globally from clinicians and others seeking a diet of softer foods that did not have to be of any particular particle size restriction. Requests came particularly from those working in aged care facilities for those older individuals who could manage to eat softer foods but struggled with harder to chew foods due to factors such as age, de-conditioning, minor change in dental status, fatigue or personal preference.
 
Regular 7 Easy to Chew allows for softer choices within a regular diet without particle size restriction with the premise being that the requirement for softer food choices is related to reasons other than increased concern about choking. People can be unsafe to eat without supervision due to chewing and swallowing problems and/or unsafe mealtime behaviours. Examples of unsafe mealtime behaviors include: not chewing very well, putting too much food into the mouth, eating too fast or swallowing large mouthfuls of food, inability to self-monitor chewing ability.  
 
It is anticipated people on Regular 7 Easy to Chew would be able to  manage this diet level without the specific need for supervision for increased choking risk however assessment and recommendation for supervision remains with the healthcare professional in consultation with that individual.  
 
In creating this subcategory the IDDSI Board discussed a number of options and based the decision to place it within Level 7, on the following rationale:
  • Specific article size restriction was designed reduce the risk of choking for those with physical difficulty chewing or mealtime behaviours which put them at risk. In Level 6 we specify no more than 1.5 cm size for adults and no more than .8 cm for children. The size was selected based on evidence related to trachea size and choking. 
  • The request from the global community was for foods that while soft, did not have particle size restriction.
  • Unrestricted particle size is ONLY in Level 7. Our intention was that at Level 7 the person themselves would have the judgement to not eat a food that is too hard or tough and the risk for choking is no higher than “normal” risk.   
  • IDDSI Level 6 and below (which all have particle restriction) were all designed for individuals with physical difficulties and/or mealtime behaviors that put them at higher risk for choking. 
  • We therefore did not correlate our new subcategory with Level 6 as we wanted to avoid potential misinterpretation of someone with increased choking risk being offered unrestricted particle sizes:  we felt the risk of an error would be more severe for someone requiring Level 6  than if the error was made with Level 7 where the individual has the ability to self-monitor.

The intent of the IDDSI framework is to provide a standardized way of describing, testing and determining levels of food texture and drink consistency to use for those with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.  The determination of whether a person has dysphagia or increased risk of choking is a clinical judgment. 
JUNE is Dysphagia Awareness Month

The National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders & the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative Presents:

The 2019 #IDDSIchallenge!

You are invited to participate in the second annual contest showing the world how you have been creating culinary delights using the IDDSI Framework.

How to enter:

  1. Share a photo of your culinary masterpiece with the NFOSD on Facebook or Twitter and include a written description of your IDDSI testing method(s).
  2. Include #IDDSIchallenge and tag @NFOSD in your post between June 1 – June 20 (deadline is midnight GMT).

**Make sure your post is public so that we can share this!**

Important Dates:

June 1-June 20, 2019 = Post your creations for National Dysphagia Awareness Month
June 20 – June 26, 2019 = Vote for your Favorite Creations
June 27, 2019 = Announce the Top 3 Winners
Prizes:  3 prizes of $100 gift cards
Who can enter?  Everyone! You can enter as an individual, a family, a corporation, a restaurant, a healthcare organization
Studying the dynamic sensations of eating.

Presented by:  Lisa Duizer , Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph, Canada.

Sensory properties of foods are sensed and perceived throughout the entire mastication process. Flavours and tastes occur as compounds are released from the product matrix and textures are generated as the product is broken down and a bolus is formed.  

There are a number of techniques that can be used to characterize these sensory properties as they occur during oral processing. In the first part of this talk, both static and temporal sensory evaluation techniques will be presented and discussed. In the second part of the talk the contribution of saliva to the perception of thickness of pureed foods will be presented.

Registration for our June 4th session is full and closed, but June 6th still has some spots left. Register below:
Canadian IDDSI Expert Reference Group (CIERG)
The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) was launched in Canada in January, 2019. The Canadian IDDSI Expert Reference Group (CIERG) was created to promote, support, advocate for and communicate recommendations for IDDSI implementation. This group is actively engaged in collecting, developing and disseminating resources and tools in both official languages, for use across Canada. CIERG is made up of volunteers from across Canada from a variety of healthcare settings and professional backgrounds including Speech Language Pathologists, Registered Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Nutrition Managers and Industry Partners.  

CIERG members are excited to be supporting the implementation of IDDSI in Canada and look forward to collaborating with both Canadian Stakeholders and colleagues from around the world.
L’Initiative internationale de normalisation de la dysphagie (IDDSI) a été lancée au Canada en janvier 2019. Le Groupe de référence canadien des experts IDDSI (GRCEI) a été créé pour promouvoir, soutenir, défendre et communiquer les recommandations de mise en œuvre de l’IDDSI. Ce groupe participe activement à la collecte, au développement et à la diffusion de ressources et d'outils dans les deux langues officielles, pour utilisation partout au Canada. Le GRCEI est composé de bénévoles de partout au Canada issus de divers milieux de soins de santé et de divers milieux professionnels, notamment des orthophonistes, des diététistes professionnelles, des ergothérapeutes, des physiothérapeutes, des gestionnaires de la nutrition et des partenaires de l'industrie.  
 
Les membres du GRCEI sont enthousiastes à l'idée de soutenir la mise en œuvre d'IDDSI au Canada et ont hâte de collaborer avec des intervenants canadiens et des collègues du monde entier.
Resources Update
Just a reminder we are working on updating our various resources and making minor changes and clarifications based on feedback received. Currently we are reviewing our audit tools.

Updating our website:
Just a reminder, we are working on updating our current Framework, Descriptor and Testing Method documents on the IDDSI website to align with some of our new resources and the new  Level 7 Regular Easy to Chew .

We will keep you posted in our e-bites about the status of these updates. Resource development and updates are completed by the volunteer members of the IDDSI Board of Directors so we appreciate your patience. 
YES! We receive your messages.

We are always excited to hear from you! However, as a volunteer board we don't have the capacity to respond to the hundreds of unique inquiries that we receive every week. When we receive a critical mass of questions on a particular topic, we will endeavour to provide the update in an IDDSI e-bite or create a FAQ document. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Luckily, many of the questions asked have been already answered and can be easily found through our website.

We'd like to encourage all IDDSI users to perform the following actions before trying to get in touch directly with us:

  • Visit our Resources page - all official IDDSI documents live here and it's always up to date.
  • Read the full Framework and Testing Methods documents - there's a lot of technical and useful information on these documents.
  • Read and revisit monthly e-bites
  • Visit our Twitter page.
  • Check out our FAQ’s. When we receive a number of similar questions, we create FAQs to answer them.
IDDSI Translations
Thai Translation is ready for Peer Reviews! Please help us spread the word.

Catalán translation will be up for review soon.

We now have an easier online-based translation feedback form.

Check out our Translations tab.
Looking for a translated version of the IDDSI Framework, Descriptors or Testing Methods?
Check our completed translations tab on the IDDSI website for the following:
Chinese (simplified), Farsi, French (Canada), French (France), Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and Swahili.

Languages currently up for review include:     
Arabic, German, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Russian, Slovenian and Vietnamese. Please consider reviewing these documents and adding any comments or suggestions for the translation before final posting.
 
Languages in progress:
Turkish, Hindi, Urdu, Zulu, Portuguese (Portugal), and Marathi.

Do you speak a language not currently under translation? Would you be willing to provide a translation? We want to hear from you.
IDDSI on the Move
  • June 2019 - Dietitians of Canada Conference, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  • June 2019 - Canadian Society of Nutrition Management Conference, Calgary, AB, Canada
  • June 2019 - Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals Conference, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • June 2019 - Speech Pathology Australia and New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association Joint Conference, Brisbane, Australia
  • June 2019 - First Latin American Congress on Deglutition, Buenos Aires, Argentina: http://www.congresodisfagia.com
  • July 2019 - ASHA Connect Conference, Chicago, IL, USA
  • July - IDDSI Workshop/Meetings Tel Aviv, Israel
  • October 2019 - FELANPE Congress, Panama City, Panama
  • October 2019 - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics FNCE 2019, Philadelphia, USA

Please let us know what you are doing in your part of the world. We would be happy to share it with the rest of the world.
Connect with us on social media & let us know your thoughts!