Dedication

We would like to dedicate this assessment to every patient who has ever experienced difficulty eating: The loss of the ability to chew and/or swallow can be devastating. Equally as devastating, and as significantly taken for granted, is the loss of intelligible speech production. Both of these deficits can have a tremendous impact on the quality of one’s life, which may be intensified by the lack of intervention secondary to a language barrier between the patient and the therapy service provider.

As SLPs, we are keenly aware that the general population is unaware of the critical role therapists play in the restoration of the oral-facial musculature’s function as it relates to eating and communication following an injury, illness, or infarct. Imagine further adding to that devastation by realizing that you weren’t going to be served by the therapist due to the clinician’s inability to speak Spanish. To those patients, we dedicate MannaQure.

Bridging the gap between the English-only speaking clinician and the primarily Spanish-speaking patient—because every event, no matter how large or small is celebrated with food and fellowship.