Therapy Diagnosis
Cognitive - Linguistic Impairment
Includes treatment for executive function, recall, working memory, attention, orientation, planning, and time/math/money/medication management.
Therapy Diagnosis
Dysarthria
Decreased speech intelligibility related to muscle weakness. SLPs treat this using rehabilitation exercises, breath support, compensatory strategies, and AAC.
Therapy Diagnosis
Dysphagia (swallowing)
An impairment that makes it difficult to swallow. This includes oral, oral pharyngeal, or pharyngeal dysphagia. SLPs conduct a clinical evaluation of swallowing. We may recommend diagnostic testing such as Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) or Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBSS). SaSS can coordinate these diagnostic assessments upon recommendation. SLPs design individualized treatment plans depending on the results of evaluation. This may include oral (mouth/face) exercises, pharyngeal (throat) exercises, training in strategies, and/or a modified diet.
Therapy Diagnosis
Dysphonia
Impaired vocal quality. This may present as a hoarse voice. Dysphonia can be due to nodules, vocal fold hemorrhages, vocal fold cysts, muscle tension dysphonia (MTD), vocal abuse, as well as other conditions. Speech language pathologists often require that patients be seen by an ENT to determine the underlying diagnosis before starting treatment. For more information about voice disorders, please visit:
Therapy Diagnosis
Expressive Language Disorder
This is the message that the communicator is trying to tell someone, whether it is through natural voice, sign language, AAC, and/or writing. It includes but is not limited to vocabulary, length of sentences, word finding, grammatically correct structure, thought organization, and script training. For additional information, visit:
Therapy Diagnosis
Stuttering or Fluency Disorder
Disruptions in the flow of speech. SLPs conduct testing to analyze the speech patterns and discuss therapy options that coincide with the client’s treatment preferences. For additional information, please visit:
Therapy Diagnosis
Receptive Language Disorder
This is language that is received/understood by the communicator. This can include following one, two or multiple step directions given verbally or in writing, reading, understanding sign/symbols, auditory comprehension (understanding of spoken language) and more.
Therapy Diagnosis
Pragmatic Deficits
The social aspect of communication. Understanding and following the ‘social norms’ may not come naturally to some individuals, especially those who have IDD, ASD or brain injury. An SLP can assess deficits and create a treatment plan to improve social communication and skills. For more information, please visit:
Therapy Diagnosis
Speech Intelligibility
The amount of speech that can be understood. This can be impacted by the production of sounds in the mouth, the rate of speech and the volume of speech. In addition, English Second Language (ESL) communicators may have reduced intelligibility due to their accent. Treatment for ESL speakers is known as ‘accent modification.’ Regardless of the etiology of reduced intelligibility, the SLP will design an individualized treatment plan to improve functional expressive communication.
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