Cognative / Memory / Comprehension Deficits

Cognitive disorders are conditions that cause individuals to have difficulty thinking. The typical symptoms of a cognitive disorder include a decline in awareness, perception, reasoning, memory and judgment although symptoms may vary. Cognition involves the mental processing of information. Memory and thoughts combine to store, retrieve and manipulate this information. A disruption of this process may result in the diagnosis of a cognitive disorder. Cognitive dysfunction can be attributed to: 

  • An acute injury: Traumatic Brain Injury, stroke, concussion
  • A neurological disorder: Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Normal process of aging 

 

Swallowing disorders

Swallowing disorders or dysphagia can occur in both pediatric and adult populations. It is most common in elderly adults with neurologic disorders. Dysphagia is the term used to describe difficulty in the swallowing process of passing food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach. Dysphagia may be caused by factors such as:
  • Poor dentition
  • Acid reflux
  • Stroke
  • Progressive neurologic disorder
  • The presence of a tracheotomy tube
  • A paralyzed vocal fold
  • A tumor in the mouth, throat, or esophagus
  • After cancer or surgery to the head, neck, or esophagus.
Many swallowing disorders may be helped by swallowing therapy. A speech-language pathologist can provide patients with diet modifications, and special exercises to help coordinate the swallowing muscles.
 

Articulation / Language Disorders in Children

Expressive Language Disorder: Children with an expressive language disorder may understand spoken communication, but demonstrate difficulty expressing their thoughts and ideas. They may demonstrate difficulty making a connection between words and ideas. Expressive language symptoms include reduce sentence length, poor story recall, improper sentence structure, poor word choice, difficulty retrieving words and poor use of grammatical rules.

Articulation / Language Disorders in Adults

Language is the expression of human communication. It allows a person to express experiences, explain ideas, share knowledge, thoughts, observations, questions, needs, values, beliefs and behaviors. When language is impaired, problems can occur in all areas of a person's life, including: 
  • Social development 
  • Academic performance 
  • Personal relationships 
  • Employment opportunities 
  • Self-sufficiency 

Voice Disorders - Including Video Stroboscopic Evaluation

Treatment for voice disorders varies depending on the cause. Most voice disorders can be successfully treated when diagnosed early. Various occupations (coaching, teaching, etc.) and lifestyle can cause vocal trauma that may potentially lead to a voice disorder.

Common voice disorders include vocal nodules, edema, contact ulcers, polyps, hyperkeratosis, spasmodic dysphonia, laryngitis, granuloma, and vocal fold paralysis. Once the voice evaluation is completed by the speech language pathologist, a treatment plan is developed to reduce vocal misuse and abuse and improve vocal hygiene and quality.

Laryngectomy Care

A laryngectomy is a surgery when your larynx (voice box) is removed. When the voice box is removed, the doctor makes a new opening in your neck for you to breathe from. This opening is called a stoma.

Your stoma requires special care. We will teach you and your family how to care for your stoma. You will learn to clean your stoma and suction out secretions. We will encourage you and your family members to practice your stoma care, cleaning, and suctioning as often as possible. Practicing how to care for your stoma will help you to feel confident and safe in taking care of yourself at home.