What Types of Problems Can Speech Therapy Address?

When it comes to senior health, speech therapy is just as crucial as skilled nursing in California. It is a type of rehabilitation therapy that emphasizes problems with language, speech, communication, and swallowing disorders. Speech therapists or speech-language pathologists (SLPs) assess, diagnose, treat, and prevent a wide range of disorders affecting seniors, such as:

• Apraxia

  Apraxia is a common side effect after a stroke with symptoms that include using words out of order or difficulty moving the lips correctly to form words. Along with physical therapy in California, speech therapy is just as important. Treatment may involve having the senior repeat certain sounds to turn these sounds into words.

• Aphasia

  Aphasia is another side effect of stroke in which seniors may have trouble finding the right word for their thoughts. Speech therapy addresses this by helping seniors concentrate on finding the right word. The goal is to help seniors reach the maximum possible functioning.

• Dysarthia

  This is a motor speech disorder that is commonly seen in seniors with diseases that affect the nervous system like Parkinson’s disease. Symptoms may include slow and mumbled speech. Treatment may involve personalized care improving tongue and lip movement and breathing techniques.

• Dysphagia

  Seniors experience problems in their ability to swallow due to bouts of pneumonia, strokes, changes in their teeth, or a lack of saliva causing dry mouth. Regardless, losing the ability to swallow properly is a concern as it increases the risk of choking and malnutrition. SLPs help by recommending special positions for eating, certain foods, and modified eating utensils.

Home Health, Inc. is your reliable source of home health care in Orange, California. To learn more about speech therapy and other services we provide, contact us today.