|
 Dr.
Elayne Achilles is a music educator and Professor Emerita of Arizona
State University. She currently serves as Executive Director of the
ALS Association Arizona Chapter. She always has been interested in cooking and has
won several
regional cooking contests. When her partner, Jackie Boswell, was
diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), she challenged
herself to find nutritious and tasty food that Jackie could eat as
chewing and swallowing became progressively more difficult.
Elayne’s understanding of
chewing and swallowing problems has resulted from her experiences as
an
active caregiver. During the three years of Jackie’s progressive
dysphagia, Elayne worked to understand and solve the daily problems
involved. Jackie tested most of the recipes and provided vital
feedback on what worked and didn’t work in chewing and swallowing.
In Jackie’s company, she engaged in detailed conversations with
nutritionists and accompanied Jackie during her speech and
swallowing diagnostic procedures with the speech-language
pathologist. Elayne was actively involved in the decision for
feeding tube placement and helped with daily maintenance of the tube.
Elayne
lives in Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona. All royalties from her
cookbook have been donated to the ALS Association. To find out
more about the ALS Association Arizona Chapter, go to
www.alsaz.org.
Classes in Coping With Dysphagia
Elayne has instructed classes on
Dysphagia at both the Greater San Diego and the Phoenix ALS support
groups. The curriculum is based on the ALS Association video
Adjusting to Swallowing Difficulties and Maintaining Good Nutrition.
Class participants taste recipes from the cookbook and participate
in demonstrations on the use of cooking equipment with everyday
ingredients to prepare pureed and ground food. Please email Elayne
to arrange for a class in your area. |
