Services
Definition: Dysphagia is any degree of difficulty chewing and swallowing food and drinking liquids. Dysphagia may result in aspiration pneumonia.
Etiology: Swallowing disorders may arise from several sources including Stroke, Laryngeal Cancer, Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders.
Symptoms:
Coughing after consuming liquids or foods
Pain while swallowing
Pain post swallowing
Feeling/sensation something is stuck in your throat
Sneezing
Runny nose and eyes only during meals
Wet gurgle to one’s voice after swallowing
Assessment: SLPs use FEES/Fiberoptic Endoscopic Examination of Swallowing for evaluations and biofeedback.
Treatment: SLPs may use Vital Stim and compensatory strategies to improve swallowing skills.
Definition: Cognitive disorders present with problems in one’s ability to think without complications.
Etiology: Could arise from TBI, Stroke, CHI, Dementia, Developmental Delay and other disorders.
Deficits:
Problem solving
Organization difficulties
Orientation to person, place and time
Auditory processing disorders
Loss of Memory
Planning difficulties
Sequencing difficulties
Inability to express wants and needs
Inability to express thoughts and ideas
Inability following written and oral directions
Inability to understand and use figurative language
Assessment: Many assessments can be completed to analyze the patient’s deficits and abilities.
Intervention: Based on the deficits documented during the diagnostic assessment, goals and objectives can be devised for therapy to improve one’s cognitive abilities and improve one’s thinking skills in his or her everyday environment.
Definition: Speech disorders arise when one is unable to articulate words and or voice clearly.
Etiologies:
Stroke
Parkinson’s disease
ALS – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Vocal pathologies causing insufficient
breath support for speech
Respiration difficulties
Developmental articulation disorders
Phonological disorders
Vocal fold pathologies
Assessment: Assessments provide information to document neurological deficits that are affecting clarity of speech. Some symptoms of speech disorders include the following:
Dysarthria
Apraxia
Fluency: Stuttering or cluttering
Articulation: inability to produce sounds correctly
Voice: quality, pitch, and resonance
Intervention: Speech therapists utilize intervention strategies to improve clarity of speech. Some patients may require devices to produce a voice such as a Passy Muir Valve (PMV) 2001 to produce a voice post tracheostomy.
Resources & Testimonials
Feedback for
Speech Therapy Enterprises, LLC
A few years had passed, and our son was still doing okay with his verbal communication. But we noticed he was starting to stutter again. Because of the pandemic, many kids had been learning virtually from home sinch March 2020. They all had limited verbal communication with their peers and teachers. And our son began to stutter more frequently. He asked us if he could see Ms. Hill again to help him get back on track.
In April of this year, we contacted Ms. Hill to see if she could work with our teenage son, again. He was able to articulate the issues he had been having with his speech. Ms. Hill welcomed him back and prepared a plan of action to help him to get back on track. She met with him virtually every week for about six months. She provided him videos to watch, she shared with him some of the old techniques and she introduced him to some newer techniques, as well. He was able to quickly adapt and to feel more comfortable when speaking. He is now extra confident and is back in the classroom. He enjoys collaborating with his teachers and peers. Once again, Ms. Hill has equipped our son with the techniques to get him through the rough patches of verbal communication.
Thank you, Ms. Hill, for your patience, compassion, and sensitivity. My family and I will always be grateful to you for what you’ve done for our son.
- Michelle T.
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