Facial-Oral Tract Therapy (F.O.T.T. ). For Eating, Swallowing, Nonverbal Communication and Speech

Chapter 1 The F.O.T.T. Approach: Functional - Complex - Relevant to Daily Living.- Chapter 2 F.O.T.T. Consensus Recommendations.- Chapter 3 F.O.T.T.: Motor Control and Motor Learning.- Chapter 4 Posture and Function: What Helps Us Swallow.- Chapter 5 Eating and Drinking - Involves More Than Swallowing.- Chapter 6 Oral Hygiene: An Interprofessional Concern.- Chapter 7 Treating the Entire Face as a Functional Entity: More than Practicing Facial Muscles.- Chapter 8 Breathing and Voice: Speaking Again.- Chapter 9 Tracheostomy Tubes: A Blessing and A Curse.- Chapter 10 The F.O.T.T. Approach to Tracheostomy Tube Management (TTM): Return to Physiology.- Chapter 11 F.O.T.T. Assessment: An Ongoing Process.- Chapter 12 The F.O.T.T. Algorithm: A Clinical Decision Making Tool.- Chapter 13 F.O.T.T. in Paediatrics: Swallowing, Eating and Drinking - With Confidence!.

The book offers a comprehensive approach to the assessment and treatment of disturbances in facial expression, oral movement, swallowing, breathing, voice and speech production caused by developmental and acquired neurological conditions. The principles outlined are used in patients with different etiologies (e.g. stroke, tumors, traumas).

F.O.T. T., developed by Kay Coombes, is a hands-on approach based on an understanding of neurological functions and the way we learn from experience. The approach aims to give the patient experience of physiological posture and movement using facial-oral functions in normal activities of daily living (ADL). Rather than mere "exercises", F.O.T.T involves meaningful activities aiming to promote participation, according to ICF criteria.

Four main areas are covered: nutrition, oral hygiene, nonverbal communication and speech. Each chapter summarises the problems of severely ill patients and shows the clinical reasoning behind the solutions offered. Separate chapters discuss tracheostomy management and the training of the carers involved, including relatives. The chapter authors are experienced specialists (physio-, occupational- and speech-language therapists and physicians), whose contributions aim to provide interdisciplinary perspectives and translate latest research into clinical practice.

Ricki Nusser-Müller-Busch, MSc, Speech and language therapist; (Neurorehabilitation). Licensed F.O.T.T. Instructor (F.O.T.T.(R), Kay Coombes); Senior Instructor for Manual Dysphagia Therapy; Bobath therapist. Freelance provision of therapeutic services and technical guidance in hospitals, nursing homes, and during home visits. Cooperation on clinical practice guidelines for palliative care, larynx carcinoma and oral cancer in Germany.

Karin Gampp Lehmann, Bsc, Physiotherapist Bsc, Physiotherapy Bahnhofplatz, Belp, Switzerland (www.physiobelp.ch), Swiss Diploma in Craniosacral Osteopathy. Freelance tutor, supervisor, and teacher of treatments for dysphagia (postgraduate centers, hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Switzerland, Germany and Austria). Development and tutoring of the concept of Structural Interrelations in Dysphagia Therapy. Qualified moderator of quality circles for dysphagia and for peripheral facial paresis/Bell's Palsy (www.fazialisparese.ch). Advanced training in dysphagia therapy (Jerilyn Logemann, Susan Langmore, Gudrun Bartholome, Kay Coombes), craniofacial therapy (Harry von Piekartz, www.crafta.org) and neurodynamics (Nora Kern, www.noigroup.com).