Speech Therapy – ST
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Speech Language Pathologist (SLP)
A Speech Language Pathologist, administers speech therapy to patients on an intermittent basis in their place of residence. This is performed in accordance with physician orders and plan of care under the direction and supervision of the Director of Clinical Services/Nursing Supervisor. Speech therapy services are furnished only by or under the supervision of a qualified speech pathologist or audiologist.
Services
Swallowing
Speech Therapy for Stroke
Speech Therapy for Dementia Related Conditions
Speech Therapy for Head Injuries and Head, Neck & Throat Cancer Patients
Voice Cognition
Memory, Focus, Judgment Language
Understanding & Expressing
What is Speech Therapy?
Speech Therapy also known as Speech-language pathology is a field of expertise practiced by a clinician known as a speech-language pathologist (SLP)[1] or a speech and language therapist, both of whom may be known by the shortened description, speech therapist. SLP is considered a “related health profession” or “allied health profession” along with audiology, behavior analysis, optometry, occupational therapy, rehabilitation psychology, physical therapy, and others.
SLPs specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders (speech disorders and language disorders), cognitive-communication disorders, voice disorders, and swallowing disorders. SLPs also play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (often in a team with pediatricians and psychologists).
A common misconception is that speech-language pathology is restricted to the treatment of articulation disorders (e.g. helping English speaking individuals enunciate the traditionally difficult “r”) and/or the treatment of individuals who stutter but, in fact, speech-language pathology is concerned with a broad scope of speech, language, swallowing, and voice issues involved in communication,[2] some of which include:
- Word-finding and other semantic issues, either as a result of a specific language impairment (SLI) such as a language delay or as a secondary characteristic of a more general issue such as dementia.
- Social communication difficulties involving how people communicate or interact with others (pragmatics).
- Language impairments, including difficulties creating sentences that are grammatical (syntax) and modifying word meaning (morphology).
- Literacy impairments (reading and writing) related to the letter-to-sound relationship (phonics), the word-to-meaning relationship (semantics), and understanding the ideas presented in a text (reading comprehension).
- Voice difficulties, such as a raspy voice, a voice that is too soft, or other voice difficulties that negatively impact a person’s social or professional performance.
- Cognitive impairments (e.g. attention, memory, executive function) to the extent that they interfere with communication.
The components of speech production include:
- phonation (producing sound)
- resonance
- fluency
- intonation
- Pitch variance;
- voice (including aeromechanical components of respiration)
The components of language include:
- Phonology (manipulating sound according to the rules of a language);
- Morphology (understanding components of words and how they can modify meaning);
- Syntax (constructing sentences according to the grammatical rules of a target language);
- Semantics (interpreting signs or symbols of communication such as words or signs to construct meaning);
- Pragmatics (social aspects of communication).[3]
Primary pediatric speech and language disorders include: receptive and expressive language disorders, speech sound disorders, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), stuttering, and language-based learning disabilities.[4] Speech pathologists work with people of all ages.[5]
Swallowing disorders include difficulties in any system of the swallowing process (i.e. oral, pharyngeal, esophageal), as well as functional dysphagia and feeding disorders. Swallowing disorders can occur at any age and can stem from multiple causes.[6]