15 Apr What is Speech Therapy?

Speech Therapy is often considered to be a type of treatment that focuses on conditions that involve someone’s ability to speak. However, Speech Therapy helps to treat many health conditions and disorders such as:

• Dementia
• Brain Tumors
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) or Stroke
• Degenerative Diseases such Parkinson’s Disease or ALS

The results of these conditions; making Speech Therapy a viable treatment option, may include, but are not exclusive to:

• Aphasia
• Dysphagia,
• Dysarthria,
• Voice Disorders, and
• Memory or Cognitive Deficits

Aphasia

Aphasia refers to expressive (the ability to speak) or receptive (the ability to understand speech) language impairments or a combination of both. Aphasia occurs when damage is caused to the language centers the brain. Aphasia can be caused by brain tumors, brain surgery, brain infections, stroke, traumatic brain injury and progressive neurological disorders such as dementia.

People who have expressive aphasia may experience difficulty in their ability to name familiar items, remember family member’s names, or ability to express basic needs and wants. In other words, it is a breakdown in their ability to effectively communicate.

People who have receptive aphasia may demonstrate a lack of ability to understand what is said to them. This may include an inability to answer simple questions or follow simple commands. The severity of these conditions can vary widely depending on the extent of damage to the language centers of the brain.

For more information about aphasia, download the Aphasia Fact Sheet by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dysphagia

Dysphagia is a condition involving the chewing and swallowing of liquids and/or solids. Someone who has a weakness in the oral motor muscles may experience difficulty in chewing and manipulating solid foods, as well as a difficulty controlling liquids within the oral cavity. Weakness may also occur within the laryngeal cavity which may result in the penetration or aspiration of food or liquid into the lungs. Aspiration is the result of food or liquid entering the airway and proceeding into the lungs. Aspiration of any foreign matter can result in aspiration pneumonia.

Some common signs of aspiration are difficult and painful swallowing, coughing while eating, nose running while eating, etc. For more information, including signs and symptoms of dysphagia, visit the Mayo Clinic’s website.

Dysarthria

Dysarthria is described as muscle weakness in facial, oral, and/or swallowing muscles. Dysarthria may result in difficulty with articulation of words resulting in slurred speech. It also may result in difficulty in the chewing and manipulation of food and liquids.

For more information about Dysarthria, visit website for The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

Voice Disorders

Voice disorders, according to ASHA, occurs when voice quality, pitch, and loudness differ or are inappropriate for an individual’s age, gender, cultural background, or geographic location.
A vocal disorder may also be a result of stroke or Parkinson’s Disease, or may be from an unrelated weakness of the vocal folds, which may cause the voice to sound whispered or strained. There may also be a decreased amount of breath support for speaking more than a word or two for each breath. To learn more about the common causes of voice disorders, visit ASHA’s website.

Memory and Cognitive Disorders

Memory and/or cognitive disorders may be the result of trauma or injury to the frontal lobe of the brain or associated with dementia. These conditions may present as a loss of long or short-term memory and a decreased ability to communicate. Cognitive disorders may include memory loss, as well as difficulty in finding words and understanding communication.

The role of the Speech/Language Pathologist is to evaluate symptoms and determine the most appropriate Speech Therapy treatment.