Dysphasia is a condition that affects your ability to produce and understand spoken language. Dysphasia can also cause reading, writing, and gesturing impairments.
Look at the following two pictures.
What do you notice? Even though the foods have been separated, do you have any indication of what type of food they are?
Compare these with work of some of the talented Chefs who have used moulds to create amazingly realistic and appetizing versions of food for those on textured modified diets, such as Leighton Short. The pictures below of cheese, biscuits, a sandwich and a roast dinner are all pureed options.
Many chefs in care homes and hospitals would love to be providing these options, but are possibly concerned that there are resource implications in terms of costs and of course time.
A 2023 Article looked at the proven positive implications of food shaping for older adults nutrition and enjoyment and asserted that ‘food shaping and design does not require complicated technology.’
The-Impact-of-Food-Shaping-2023An earlier article explores in more detail the range of ways of improving the experiences of food including using moulds, looking at temperature and assessing the environmental issues. The authors also stress the importance of meaningful consultation with people living with dysphagia themselves, who in their study had different perspectives to those living without dysphagia.
The-Impact-of-Food-Design-on-Mealtimes-2022