People who suffer speech or language problems, either abruptly or over time, often experience an emotional impact that can be severe. Their ability to speak an intended word might suddenly seem to vanish. Or maybe their speech becomes slurred, or faint. Perhaps they experience wheezing or breathing trouble just by trying to talk.
For others — those with swallowing disorders — even the thought of taking a pill can be downright scary.
Whitehall Boca’s team of speech-language pathologists — most often simply called “speech therapists” — know better than almost anyone just how frightening those experiences really are because they work every day with people afflicted with an impaired ability to communicate. Fortunately, they also know how to treat it — and related swallowing disorders, known as “dysphagia.”
Speech and language disorders fall under fancy names like “apraxia,” “dysarthria,” and “aphasia.” They often arise from a stroke, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, brain injury, vocal cord issues, oral cancer or other illnesses. Of course, speech and language disorders can happen to anybody. National Public Radio’s popular morning radio talk show host Diane Rehm struggles with a voice condition for which she continues work with a speech therapist.
Therapists use a variety of proven techniques to help patients restore or improve a variety of speech or language problems. Depending on the patient’s condition, they might use techniques designed to retrain muscles or increase mouth, tongue and lip movement. They also aid patients with re-establishing their ability to recall information, problem solve, and sequence effectively to maximize independence with daily activities.
For people with swallowing disorders, therapists help patients regain or improve their swallow function to increase safety while consuming food and liquid. In fact, Whitehall is one of the few area-wide skilled nursing facilities to use neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) along with traditional therapeutic procedures to improve difficulties in swallowing. NMES, a non-invasive treatment conducted for 30 minutes each session, is performed by placing two “sticky” electrodes on the skin in the soft, fleshy area under the jaw bone. The electrodes directly stimulate the peripheral nervous system to raise the larynx and move it forward while the patient swallows — necessary to protect the airway during swallowing.
All forms of speech and language therapies are also offered at Whitehall on an outpatient basis. For more information, please call Sonia at 561-392-3000, extension 521.
