Speech Therapy

Speech therapy treats disorders that affect speech, cognition, and swallowing. Potential medical conditions that a speech language pathologist can treat:

• Stroke
• Head injury
• Encephalitis
• Meningitis
• Head and neck cancer
• Brain tumor
• Degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis
• Tracheotomy
• Dsyphagia
• Vocal cord impairment
• Aspiration pneumonia

Here are some questions you can ask about your loved one. If the answer is yes to any of these, you might want to talk to their physician about a referral to a speech language pathologist.

• Does the person have frequent coughing or choking during or after eating?
• Does the person have a wet or gurgle voice after eating?
• Does the person become frustrated with communication attempts?
• Do you have trouble understanding the person's speech?
• Do you have to encourage the person to use gestures, pointing, head nods to determine their wants and needs?
• Does the person's voice quality make his/her speech difficult to understand OR make is difficult to listen to what is said?
• Do you have to remind the person of his/her daily schedule of medication needs frequently?
• Is the person distractible or impulsive?
• Do you need to help the person read a menu or written instructions?
• Do you have to repeat or rephrase instructions or information frequently?
• Do you have to give the person more time to respond than usual?
• Does the person have difficulty managing a home or maintaining a job or business due to difficulty communicating or managing information?

For more information, please call Prairie Lakes Rehabilitation Services at 605-882-7700.

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