Speech therapy for adults?
When asked about what a speech pathologist does, people are often surprised when we tell them we work with adults. While many associate speech pathology with childhood lisps or stuttering, our work extends far beyond.
At Newcastle Neuro, we have a special interest in:
Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
Neurodegenerative conditions (Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease etc.)
Acquired neurological conditions (stroke, traumatic brain injury etc.)
Age-related conditions (Alzheimer’s disease, dementia)
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)
Conditions connected to mental health
So what do we actually do in speech therapy? Here’s a rundown of a typical week on the road.
Wednesday:
Develop a mealtime management plan that promotes quality of life when eating and drinking while supporting safety and comfort.
Home visit for speech and voice therapy for a gent with Parkinson’s disease. We are following the SPEAK OUT! therapy program to regain and retain speech clarity and voice loudness.
Thursday:
Communication assessment with a client with dementia. We worked collaboratively with her support workers and family to make a start on building a communication profile (likes and dislikes), memory book (preparing for reminiscent therapy) and a communication dictionary (interpreting non-speaking behaviours and understanding their meaning).
Develop a home therapy program for a person with MS. This individualised voice therapy program alongside a structured Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) plan will help improve voice quality, breath support and possibly even have a positive effect on our client’s progressive dysphagia.
Friday:
Programming a high-tech eye-gaze Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) system for a gent with MND.
Therapy session improve eye-gaze calibration, typing phrases and navigating the new communication device. Our next step is to connect the AAC device to the television and smart lights for remote access.
Home visit for a person with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND). The session focussed on understanding diagnosis and identifying symptoms relating to voice and swallowing, retraining movement patterns and swallowing fluids of varying texture, taste and temperature.
We love what we do; improving quality of life for adults in our community.
If you are looking for communication or dysphagia (swallowing) support, contact us today:
☎ 0467 093 613
💻 www.newcastleneuro.com.au
✉ speechpathology@newcastleneuro.com.au