Speech Language Pathology Services For Adults

Articulation disorders:

Articulation disorders refer to errors in the production of individual sounds. Some adults with articulation problems have difficulty making a particular sound, while others have trouble with a range of sounds. Symptoms of an articulation disorder may include: Speech that is unclear or hard to understand or distorted sounds in words (e.g. “thoup” instead of “soup” or “wabbit” instead of “rabbit”). A speech language pathologist will evaluate your speech and look for a contributing cause to your articulation disorder.Your evaluation will typically consist of the following:

An examination of the speech muscles, including the lips, jaw, tongue, teeth, and hard/soft palate
Obtaining a speech sample during a conversation
Standardized or informal articulation assessments
Naming pictures or repeating a variety of words and phrases of varying lengths and complexities
An interview
Transcription of some of the words and phrases you say aloud for later analysis

Aphasia:

Aphasia is a disorder that affects how you communicate. It can impact your speech, as well as the way you write and understand both spoken and written language. Aphasia usually happens suddenly after a stroke or a head injury. But it can also come on gradually from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes progressive, permanent damage (degenerative). The severity of aphasia depends on a number of things, including the cause and the extent of the brain damage. The main treatment for aphasia involves treating the condition that causes it, as well as speech and language therapy. The person with aphasia relearns and practices language skills and learns to use other ways to communicate. Family members often participate in the process, helping the person communicate.

Dysarthria:

Difficulty speaking caused by brain damage, which results in an
inability to control the muscles used in speech.What causes dysarthria in adults?
Common causes of dysarthria include nervous system disorders and
conditions that cause facial paralysis or tongue or throat muscle
weakness. Certain medications also can cause dysarthria.Speech and language therapy helps you regain normal speech and
improve communication. Your speech therapy goals might include
adjusting speech rate, strengthening muscles, increasing breath
support, improving articulation and helping family members
communicate with you.Your speech-language pathologist may recommend trying other
communication methods if speech and language therapy isn’t
effective. These communication methods could include visual cues,
gestures, an alphabet board or computer-based technology. Contact
us to get in touch with a speech language pathologist
specialized in this area.

Apraxia of speech:

Apraxia of speech is sometimes called acquired apraxia of speech, verbal apraxia, or dyspraxia. What are the main symptom of apraxia of speech? Difficulty moving smoothly from one sound, syllable or word to another. Groping movements with the jaw, lips or tongue to make the correct movement for speech sounds. Vowel distortions, such as attempting to use the correct vowel, but saying it incorrectly. When you have apraxia of speech, the messages do not get through correctly due to brain damage. You might not be able to move your lips or tongue the right way to say sounds. Can apraxia of speech be cured in adults? With speech-language therapy, a person with apraxia of speech can improve dramatically. Even though it is difficult, you can learn to communicate again.

Swallowing disorders or dysphagia:

Certain conditions can weaken the throat muscles, making it difficult to move food from your mouth into your throat and esophagus when you start to swallow. You might choke, gag or cough when you try to swallow or have the sensation of food or fluids going down your windpipe (trachea) or up your nose. This can lead to pneumonia.Difficulty swallowing can lead to:

Malnutrition: weight loss and dehydration. Dysphagia can make it difficult to take in enough nourishment and fluids.
Aspiration pneumonia: Food or liquid entering the airway during attempts to swallow can cause aspiration pneumonia as a result of the food introducing bacteria into the lungs.
Choking: Food stuck in the throat can cause choking.

A speech language pathologist can examine you for dysphagia and provide you with individualized treatment plans that can help you with swallowing difficulties or potential consequences arising from swallowing difficulties.

Voice Disorders:

A voice disorder occurs when voice quality, pitch, and loudness
differ or are inappropriate for an individual’s age, gender, cultural
background, or geographic location. A voice disorder is present
when an individual expresses concern about having an abnormal
voice that does not meet daily needs—even if others do not perceive
it as different or deviant.Ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctors provide you with further
information regarding your voice disorder and treatment options. If
your ear, nose and throat doctor has recommended voice therapy,
contact us to get in touch with a speech language
pathologist specialized in voice therapy.

Stuttering:

Stuttering also called stammering or childhood-onset fluency
disorder is a speech disorder that involves frequent and significant
problems with normal fluency and flow of speech. People who
stutter know what they want to say, but have difficulty saying it. For
example, they may repeat or prolong a word, a syllable, or a consonant or vowel sound. Or they may pause during speech
because they have reached a problematic word or sound.
Stuttering is common among young children as a normal part of
learning to speak. Young children may stutter when their speech
and language abilities are not developed enough to keep up with
what they want to say. Most children outgrow this developmental
stuttering.

437-575-6903