Speech Therapists are able to serve the patients by addressing communication and swallowing difficulties that present themselves during normal aging and sudden onset illnesses. An individual may benefit from Speech Therapy if they present with any of the following: swallowing and feeding difficulties, fluency (stuttering) disorders, voice disorders, articulation disorders, language disorders, oral motor deficits and cognitive delays (including organization, memory, and word retrieval).

Speech therapy covers deficits in:

                                                                                                                      
1. Articulation- Common Disorders:

•       Dysarthria – Weakness of the oral musculature.
•       Apraxia – Insufficient control of the oral musculature.

     Etiology – CVA (stroke), Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
 
     Treatment
         a.  Oral Motor Exercises
         b.  Compensatory Strategies
 
2. Language- Common Disorders:

•           Expressive Aphasia – Difficulty retrieving the proper words to use.
•           Receptive Aphasia – The person does not understand part or all that is being said to them.

      Etiology – CVA (stroke), Brain Tumor, Brain Injury
 
      Treatment
          a.  Word Retrieval Exercises
          b.  Functional Communication Activities
          c.  Augmentative/Alternative Communication
 
 

3.  Cognitive Deficits- Common Disorders:

•        Attention
•        Orientation
•        Visual Neglect
•        Short Term Memory
•        Long Term Memory
•        Problem Solving
•        Reasoning

     Etiology – CVA (stroke), TBI, Dementia
 
     Treatment:
         a. Cognitive Exercises                                                                                                                                        b. Compensatory Strategies
         c.  Montessori Techniques
 
4.  Dysphagia- Common Disorders:

•        Oral Phase Dsyphagia – Decreased oral musculature strength or control.
•        Pharyngeal Phase Dysphagia – Characterized by a delayed or absent swallow reflex or by insufficient swallow

        Etiology – CVA (stroke), Parkinson’s Disease, Dementia, Generalized Weakness
 
        Treatment:
        a.  Oral Motor Exercises
        b.  Thermal Gustatory Stimulation
        c.  Compensatory Training
        c.  Diet Modification

To make an appointment click here or call us at 440-498-9723 for more information.