Why do adults need speech therapy?
Speech therapy involves the evaluation and treatment of people who have trouble with speech, language, cognitive function (such as problems that affect a person's learning, memory, perception, or problem-solving skills), as well as swallowing disorders.
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Traumatic Brain Injury
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Stroke
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Parkinson's
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Voice
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Dysarthria
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Swallowing problems
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Laryngectomy
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Oral cancer
How will speech therapy help you?
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Speak and write influentially
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Eliminate your fear of speaking
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Improve your voice by modifying pitch, intonation, and vocal techniques
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Have a safe swallow or enjoyable mealtime
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Have a conversation with friends and family
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Increase awareness and modify non-verbal communication skills
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Develop active listening and interpretive reading skills
Adult speech therapy disorders
We provide assessment and intervention for a variety of speech disorders.We offer the following speech therapy services: screenings, assessments, consultation, caregiver training, individual therapy, and group therapy.
Click on the disorder below to learn more.
Social pragmatic Disorder
Stuttering and fluency therapy
Stuttering is more than just disfluencies. Stuttering also may include tension and negative feelings about talking. It may get in the way of how you talk to others. You may want to hide your stuttering. So, you may avoid certain words or situations. For example, you may not want to talk on the phone if that makes you stutter more. Stuttering can change from day to day. You may have times when you are fluent and times when you stutter more. Stress or excitement can lead to more stuttering.
At Sounderic we can teach you to slow down your speech and learn to notice when you stutter.
We help you become confident speakers by providing you with all the support and encouragement that you need along with practicing the fluency techniques.
Intervention after stroke/Aphasia therapy
Aphasia is a language disorder that can occur suddenly in case of stroke or head injury affecting the person’s ability to communicate.
A person with aphasia can have mild to severe impairments in
1. Understanding conversations,
2. Naming objects, places, people,
3. Difficulty in expressing oneself when speaking or writing,
4. and putting words in order.
Aphasia can affect a person’s quality of life as communication
plays a vital role in one’s life. Once the primary cause is treated,
the main treatment for aphasia is Speech therapy.
At Sounderic we aim to,
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Strengthen the intact language skills, restore lost
language abilities and compensate for impairments by teaching various strategies.
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Provide one to one interactive therapy sessions and also group sessions where they can practice their conversation skills
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The therapy sessions are individualized to meet the specific needs of the client.
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For our patients, we offer online sessions through an accessible and convenient online delivery model.
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We focus on assessing and improving:
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Cognitive skills such as memory or problem-solving.
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Social skills, interacting with other people.
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Psychological functioning to improve coping skills and treatment to overcome depression if needed.
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We encourage the family to be a part of therapy so that they can practice the skills learnt in the session at home.
Getting quality and timely speech and swallow therapy intervention from a strong team of therapists leads to better recovery. The goal is to enable our patients to become as independent as possible.
Voice disorders in adults
Voice disorders are more common than most people realize. A voice disorder may be characterized by hoarseness, vocal fatigue, raspiness, periodic loss of voice, or inappropriate pitch or loudness.
These problems occur when your vocal cords don't vibrate normally.
Voice problems may lead to difficulty communicating at home, socially,
and in the community and may affect self-image and self-confidence, and
may affect job performance or job status.
Speech therapy aims to improve the quality of voice thus improving the
overall quality of life. Speech therapists use various techniques to help
achieve this goal. At Sounderic, speech therapists are highly motivated
and work to improve the overall functioning of the individual.
Communication change for transgender people
You may want to change the way you sound and speak so that your voice more closely matches your gender expression. There are different options that may help you with this.
Surgery and hormone treatment may change how your voice sounds. You may also choose to have voice and communication therapy with an SLP.
Goals for this treatment would be working on not only your voice but also your overall communication.
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The Speech therapist will listen to your vocal pitch, or how high or deep your voice sounds.
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The Speech therapist will also listen to the words you use and watch how you communicate nonverbally.
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If you try to change your voice on your own, you could hurt it. You can end up sounding raspy or losing your voice.
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The Speech therapist will help you stop behaviours that may hurt your voice and teach you safer ways to speak.
Apraxia of speech
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. Sometimes, you might not be able to speak at all.
Our treatment will focus on getting your muscles to move correctly. Here at Sounderic, we provide speech therapy for apraxia. Our program entails
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You may need to retrain your muscles to make sounds.
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Repeating sounds over and over and practicing correct mouth movements can help.
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You may need to slow down or pace your speech so that you can say the sounds you need to say.
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In severe cases, you may need to find other ways to answer questions or tell people what you want. These may include simple hand gestures, writing, pointing to letters or pictures, or using a computer. This is called augmentative and alternative communication.
Dysarthria
Dysarthria is a speech disorder caused by muscle weakness or
has difficulty controlling them. It can make it hard for you to
talk. People may have trouble understanding what you say.
Speech-language pathologists, or SLPs, can help.
Your work with the SLP will depend on the type of dysarthria
you have and how severe it is. You may work on:
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Slowing down your speech.
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Using more breath to speak louder.
Speech therapy can help a person with dysarthria cope up with the communication difficulties faced in everyday life. Speech therapy aims at strengthening the muscles, improving muscle coordination, and helping the person compensate for the lost abilities.
At Sounderic, we provide one-to-one therapy sessions with the aim to improve the patient’s functional communication thus empowering the patient. We highlight the important role of caregivers in this journey through consistent counseling and interactive sessions.
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Making your mouth muscles stronger.
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Moving your lips and tongue more.
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Saying sounds clearly in words and sentences.
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Using other ways to communicate, like gestures, writing, or using computers. This is augmentative and alternative communication or AAC.
The SLP can also work with your family and friends to help them learn ways to talk with and understand you.
Swallowing disorder in adults
Dysphagia - the sensation of food or fluid being regurgitated or stuck in the chest; also any throat discoordination leading to coughing or choking during swallowing.
There are many conditions that can cause swallowing problems.
Damage to your brain or nerves from:
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stroke
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brain injury
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spinal cord injury
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Parkinson's disease
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multiple sclerosis
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amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease)
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muscular dystrophy
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cerebral palsy
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Alzheimer's disease
Problems with your head or neck, such as:
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cancer in your mouth, throat, or oesophagus
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head or neck injuries
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mouth or neck surgery
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bad teeth, missing teeth, or dentures that do not fit well
At Sounderic we can work with you to improve how you swallow. We can suggest :
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treatment to help you use your muscles to chew and swallow
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ways you should sit or hold your head when you eat
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strategies to make your swallow better and safer
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eating softer foods or thicker drinks to help you swallow
Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement. Symptoms start gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. Tremors are common, but the disorder also commonly causes stiffness or slowing of movement.
In the early stages of Parkinson's disease, your face may show little or no expression. Your arms may not swing when you walk. Your speech may become soft or slurred. Parkinson's disease symptoms worsen as your condition progresses over time.
Although Parkinson's disease can't be cured, medications
might significantly improve your symptoms whereas
Speech-language pathologists can help people with
Parkinson's disease maintains as many communication
skills as possible. They also teach techniques that conserve
energy, including non-verbal communication skills.
At Sounderic we are available to:
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Recommend appropriate communication technologies
that will help with daily activities.
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Treat all types of speech, language, and communication
problems.
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Evaluate swallowing function and recommend changes as necessary.
Dementia
Dementia results from a variety of diseases and injuries that primarily or secondarily affect the brain, such as Alzheimer's disease or stroke. Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.
Speech therapy is a great way for patients to maintain a level of independence for longer. It helps stimulate cognitive ability through activities related to the underlying cognitive domain.
Individuals working with a speech pathologist learn how to compensate for their deficits. They learn to modify their environment, which is crucial. This helps them adapt to the ongoing cognitive changes caused by dementia.
At Sounderic, we can also assess how one eats, drinks, and swallows. If there appears to be any dysfunction, we’ll offer management strategies for mealtime.
Social/Pragmatic disorder in adults
Social (pragmatic) communication disorder is characterized by persistent difficulties in the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. A person with social communication disorder can have trouble using communication for social purposes, difficulties following rules for conversation and storytelling, using appropriate greetings, repairing communication breakdowns (e.g., rephrasing), making and keeping close friendships.
Social communication disorder can result in far-reaching problems, including difficulty participating in social settings, developing peer relationships, achieving academic success, and performing successfully on the job.
Speech therapy can help a person capitalize on strengths and address weaknesses related to underlying functions that affect social communication.
At Sounderic we help the individual acquire new skills and strategies to facilitate social interaction by focusing on functional outcomes and by tailoring goals to address the individual’s specific needs in a variety of natural environments.
Right Hemisphere Damage
Right hemisphere damage (RHD; also known as “right hemisphere disorder” and “right hemisphere brain damage”) is an acquired brain injury, usually secondary to stroke or TBI, that causes impairments in language and other cognitive domains that affect communication.
Treatment for cognitive deficits that have an impact on language following a right hemisphere injury focuses on attention, memory, and executive functioning
At Sounderic, we will work with your loved ones to improve their skills. Treatment will depend on the problems they have. We may need to help them become aware of these problems. At Sounderic we will suggest tools that will help them in their daily life. For example, They may need word or picture cues to help her prepare a meal. The goal is to help her care for herself as much as possible.